Daily Norseman

Looking Back at Bears/Vikings

2008-12-02T01:13:11Z

Hey, I can almost see Bernard Berrian from here!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, almost 24 hours after what happened last night at the Metrodome, the feeling is still pretty awesome. One of the more dominant games of the Brad Childress era, one of the greatest single plays in Vikings' history, and an all-around outstanding performance from the Minnesota Vikings has placed them alone atop the NFC North. . .for now.

From basically the very beginning of the game last night, the Bears had no answer for any aspect of the Minnesota defense. At the 8:15 mark of the first quarter, after Kyle Orton threw a touchdown pass to Devin Hester to give the Bears a 7-0 lead, he was 1-for-4 passing for 65 yards and a TD. For the remaining 51 minutes and 45 seconds, he was 10-for-25 for 88 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

Prior to the interception he threw to Darren Sharper in the third quarter, Orton hadn't thrown an interception in 207 consecutive pass attempts, a mark that established a new Bears' record. He then proceeded to throw three in his next seven pass attempts, apparently finally remembering that he is, indeed, Kyle Orton. After Sharper got his first interception of 2008, Ben Leber and Benny Sapp got in on the fun as well, with Leber's interception setting off a Benny Hill-esque chain of events that wound up seeing the Vikings retain possession of the football at Chicago's 22-yard line.

Even after Sapp committed a truly dumb penalty to negate a third-down stop and rookie Matt Forte took the ball down to the Minnesota 2-yard line, the Bears couldn't get through the Vikings' defense. Four times the Bears inexplicably tried to slam the ball home through the middle of the Minnesota defensive line. . .but with Pat Williams continuing his recent ownership of Bears' center Olin Kreutz, Kevin Williams destroying whatever gets in his path, and Jared Allen turning Bears' tackle John St. Clair into a turnstile, they failed on each and every occasion. The Vikings put together a spectacular goal-line stand, and Allen concluded it by coming all the way around from his defensive end position to stop Forte on the other side of the formation and stop the Bears on fourth down.

And then. . ."it" happened. Here's the breakdown of the ensuing play from ESPN:

On first down, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell called a play that Berrian said he has been lobbying for all season. Lining up in a run formation known as "Tiger," the Vikings had two tight ends on the line of scrimmage.

Berrian trotted out to the far left side. Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe lined up next to left tackle Bryant McKinnie. Tight end Jim Kleinsasser was next to right tackle Ryan Cook. Bevell's play called for Berrian and Shiancoe to run "go" routes. In playground terms, they went long.

Frerotte pump-faked to the right, freezing Payne. Frerotte then looked back toward Berrian.

"Right as I was throwing," Frerotte said, "I saw the corner break to the inside."

Yes, Tillman left Berrian to cover Shiancoe. Suddenly, there was Berrian -- all alone -- along the sideline.

Brilliant move by Tillman. . .a guy who, if he isn't already the single most overrated defensive player in the NFL, is well on his way to capturing that mantle. Maybe Adewale Ogunleye should have made his cheap shot on Gus Frerotte more worth his while. (And, yes, I know that Gus flopped like Manu Ginobili after the hit. But, seriously, what's the over/under on the number of flags that would have been on the field had that hit been delivered by Jared Allen on Kyle Orton? I'd say at least three.)

All in all, the Vikings' defense racked up three sacks last night (all by Allen, to bring his season total to 11), held the Bears to 228 total offensive yards, forced the aforementioned three Orton interceptions, and showed everyone that the offensive "explosion" that we saw in Chicago earlier this year was a fluke. . .well, half a fluke, anyway.

And let's not forget that, in all the excitement of the goal line stand, the 99-yard touchdown, and the Bears' terrible second-half performance (in the second half, they had 3 interceptions and punted four times), we were treated to another flogging of the Bears' defense by the wonder known as Adrian Peterson. With his 28 carry, 131 yard performance last night, Peterson has now rushed for a cool 554 yards on 90 carries (6.2 yards/carry) and 8 TDs in four career starts against Chicago in his career. He now has a solid lead in the NFL's rushing race over Washington's Clinton Portis, as he's the first back in the league this season to reach the 1,300-yard mark. If the Vikings manage to make the playoffs this year and Peterson can lead the NFL in rushing. . .something that no Viking has ever done, by the way. . .then he's going to merit some serious consideration for the NFL MVP award. Granted, he won't win it or anything, but he'd merit consideration anyway.

Right now, we're a game up on the Bears, two games up on the Packers, and a victory over Detroit on Sunday afternoon would put the Vikings' in the driver's seat in the NFC North in pretty much every conceivable way. The important thing is for the Vikings to NOT overlook this Sunday's matchup. Yes, I know they're the Lions. . .yes, I know they're 0-12. . .yes, I know that they may be one of the worst football teams that any of us have ever seen. . .but with a pretty murderous final three games on the schedule and a big road trip to Arizona coming in two weeks, this Sunday's contest has all the makings of a classic "trap" game. The Vikings absolutely, positively must avoid the trap. . .a loss to the Lions would not only completely negate all the positivity and good feelings coming from last night's victory, but could send the Vikings spiraling in the completely opposite direction.

Vikings 34, Bears 14: The View From The Top Is Nice

2008-12-01T04:53:44Z

Breaking news story coming out of Chicago this evening. . .the Chicago Bears are no longer owned by the McCaskey family. It turns out that the Chicago Bears are now owned by Adrian Peterson.

And to all the Bear fans that laughed and scoffed when the Vikings signed Bernard Berrian this off-season. . .go see how hard Charles Tillman is laughing right now. That overrated schlub still has no idea where on earth Berrian went to. If Tillman wants to find him, he can start by watching highlights of the 11th 99-yard play in National Football League history. He may or may not actually appear in the frame, I'm not sure.

What a great Sunday of football. . .from the Packers urinating all over themselves during the early games to the Vikings dealing a division rival a Grade A butt-whomping this evening, it's a good day to be a fan of the Beloved Purple.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Minnesota Vikings are in first place in the NFC North. Will it last for four more weeks? Heck, I don't know. . .but I do know that it feels pretty damn good right now.

And, since I'm pretty positive that we set a site record for comments this evening, let me bust out the "roll" call for who participated in the thread and how many comments they had. This is the first time I've had to break this out, and it's actually kind of cool to see. Naturally, I had the most comments, but a lot of folks did a lot of contributing as well. Here's the full tally as of about 30 seconds ago:

Total Users: 34
Total Posts: 931
Total Threads: 1

Name	# of Posts
Gonzo	130
Mooninite	96
DBQViking	78
VikingBillArlingtonVA	68
speedlod	54
Frost	50
Murlock	48
vikingfiend	44
Tony_O	44
CitrusFLViking	40
DelawareBerserker	34
PJS	31
rencito	29
Gonzo2	21
Anxious	19
vikingfromkuwait	19
steezah	17
hickenizgriz	15
NativeViking	13
da2213viking	13
FarvaForTheVikings	10
jswen	10
SDviking	9
Skol Vikes	8
Andersklasen	8
Delta Dave	7
Schnick24	4
the Dragon	3
sle71r	3
rconner84	2
Norse Force	1
AustinVike	1
Macdaddy4508	1
Jimemort	1

Great job tonight, everybody! There will be more about tonight's victory over the next day or two.

The Battle for the Top of the NFC North

2008-11-30T23:15:05Z

CHICAGO BEARS (6-5)	GAME #12	MINNESOTA VIKINGS (6-5)
	@

Date:	November 30, 2008	Location:	Minneapolis, MN
Time:	7:15 P.M. CST	Stadium:	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
TV:	NBC	Know Thy Enemy:	Windy City Gridiron
Gonzo's Prediction:	Vikings 24, Bears 23
Final Score:	Vikings 34, Bears 14

Not a lot to be said here, ladies and gentlemen. We can't let Orton get comfortable back there like he did against us the first time. He's not 100% back from his ankle injury, and the Williams brothers and Jared Allen need to spend some time getting reacquainted with their pal Kyle.

With the Packers urinating one down their collective legs this afternoon against Carolina (to officially go 0-4 against the NFC South, for what that's worth), the winner of this one should, in theory, have the smoothest sailing to the NFC North crown. Our guys need to go out and get this job done.

We're 407 miles from Chicago, we've got a full bottle of Mountain Dew, half a roasted chicken, it's dark. . .and we're playing indoors. Hit it!

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!

Open Thread for Discussion of Sunday Afternoon Games

2008-11-30T17:17:19Z

Well, since we have to. . .in the words of Faith Hill. . .wait all day for Sunday night, here's a thread for those of you that feel compelled to stop by and discuss the early football games.

The only game of real consequence to us among the early set is between the Carolina Panthers and the Green Bay Packers up at Lambeau Field. A loss for the Packers would really put them behind the 8-ball, since it would drop them to 5-7 and two games behind whoever wins the big matchup this evening. Not to say that they couldn't get themselves back into it, but it would be very tough for them to do so. The Packers struggle against great rushing attacks, and few rushing attacks are better than Carolina's (well. . .except when they play the Vikings, natch). It's a very losable game for the Packers, particularly coming off of a short week where they got blown out on national television, and here's hoping that they can do just that.

So, if you want to talk about the early games, please do so here. The actual game thread for tonight's clash will go up between 4:00 and 5:00 PM Central time. And don't forget to take advantage of the new SBNation NFL Hub for all of your Sunday football needs!

Official Bears/Vikings Injury Reports

2008-11-29T16:48:59Z

The biggest game of the year in the NFC North kicks off in about. . .oh. . .a little less than 33 hours according to the countdown clock, and the official injury reports are now available, so let's take a look at what they tell us. We'll start with the Bears because they're our guests, and we're polite like that.

Injuries: Chicago Bears

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mike Brown	leg	11.28.2008
Jamar Williams	groin	11.28.2008

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jason McKie	quadriceps	11.28.2008
Desmond Clark	knee	11.28.2008
Marty Booker	knee	11.28.2008

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Darrell McClover	hamstring	11.24.2008
Fred Miller	shoulder	11.22.2008
Brandon McGowan	ankle	9.19.2008
Zackary Bowman	biceps	10.22.2008

One name that's not on this list is CB Nathan Vasher, who will miss this game (and possibly the rest of Chicago's season) with a hand injury. He has definitely been ruled out for Sunday night's game. Not that this is a big deal, mind you, because Vasher a) didn't play in the first match-up, either, and b) has been overrated for quite some time now. Heck, it might almost be an advantage for the Bears if he's out.

Of the guys that are listed up there, only LB Jamar Williams is shown by NFL.com as having fully participated in practice on Friday. Brown, McKie, Clark, and Booker are all shown as having limited participation. Surprisingly, we've gotten all the way to Week 13 and haven't yet seen the trademark Mike Brown Season-Ending Injury, which is good news for the Bears. He's one of the leaders of their defense.

I expected Bears' QB Kyle Orton to be on this list, but he's not there. He clearly wasn't 100% when the Bears played Green Bay a couple of weeks ago, and the Bears got throttled by the Packers as a result. He really didn't have to do a whole heck of a lot in Chicago's 27-3 victory over St. Louis last week. . .he had 132 yards passing on 28 attempts against a bad Rams' pass defense. . .so it's hard to tell if he's all the way back from his ankle injury. With the way the Vikings' pass rush has performed at home this season, I have a feeling that we're going to find out pretty early on if he is.

Now, on to the Vikings' injury report.

Injuries: Minnesota Vikings

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jared Allen	shoulder	11.28.2008
Madieu Williams	shoulder	11.28.2008

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Vinny Ciurciu	hand	11.28.2008
David Herron	shoulder	11.28.2008
Artis Hicks	arm	11.28.2008
Garrett Mills	ankle	11.28.2008

Doubtful

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Letroy Guion	ankle	11.28.2008

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
E.J. Henderson	foot/toes	10.6.2008
Heath Farwell	knee	8.11.2008
Kenderick Allen	wrist	8.19.2008
Drew Radovich	shoulder	10.13.2008
Jayme Mitchell	knee	8.11.2008
Michael Boulware	wrist	8.30.2008
Charles Gordon	ankle	11.13.2008

All of the players listed on the injury report above had limited participation in practice with the exception of Letroy Guion, who didn't participate in practice at all and won't play on Sunday night anyway.

Artis Hicks is playing with a brace on his elbow, and is a 50/50 proposition to start tomorrow night. Hicks apparently injured the elbow way back in Week 1 and has been playing with the injury all season with varying degrees of pain. If it's decided that he can't go this week, Ryan Cook will be back committing false starts and giving up sacks at crucial times at right tackle.

Madieu Williams and Jared Allen will be out there, to the surprise of nobody. As far as the rest of the folks on the questionable list, I'm guessing that Garrett Mills will be inactive again, but I can't get a read on either Herron or Ciurciu. I'm guessing that at least one of the two of them will be active.

If we get more definitive word on the Vikings' injuries sometime during the day, we'll pass them along here. Stay tuned, and continue enjoying the rest of your long weekend!

Daily Norseman Fantasy Football League: Down the Stretch They Come!

2008-11-28T16:24:48Z

Well, things have certainly gotten quite interesting since the last time yours truly updated everyone on the status of the Daily Norseman Fantasy Football League. There are two weeks remaining before the playoffs start, and only one team has assured themselves of a post-season spot to this point. Let's take a look at things, shall we?

One of the more amazing stories of the past few weeks has been the blistering comeback by FSUViking's Garnet & Gold. Having languished at the bottom of the league standings for much of the season, the erstwhile Florida Staters have put together an amazing five-game winning streak to put themselves back at .500 and in the hunt for a playoff berth. Their most recent victory came at the expense of my Space Monkey Mafia, who put up what might be the lowest total of any team this season in Week 13 as they fell 77.65 - 39.65. When nobody on your roster scores more than 10.9 points and your QB puts up negative points before getting benched, you know it's going to be a bad day.

The only team in the league thus far that HAS assured themselves of a playoff spot is UBB's Bombers. They put a licking on Dani's Purple Team by a score of 111.75 - 76.95 to clinch the Page Division title and assure themselves of a place in the post-season. None of the other three Page Division teams are eligible for the post-season.

If the playoffs were to start today, here's what the brackets would look like:

Winner's Bracket

First round byes - #1 PMak Attack, #2 UBB's Bombers

Wild-card round matchups - #6 whodat @ #3 Packers Suck, #5 dvikings1 @ #4 Angry Dragons

Consolation Bracket

First round byes - #7 Space Monkey Mafia, #8 Garnet and Gold

Wild-card round matchups - #12 Dani's Purple Team @ #9 Elvis Budweiser VIII, #11 Rabble Rousers @ #10 The Hamburglars

But, there are still two weeks for all of those things to be determined, so stay tuned and see what happens! Again, only the bottom four seeds listed are ineligible for the winner's bracket thus far, and only one team has actually sewn up a spot. It's going to be a fun last couple of weeks!

Four Vikings Make Cut for Hall of Fame Voting

2008-11-28T14:50:22Z

The NFL recently announced its 25 semi-finalists for the Hall of Fame voting that will take place over Super Bowl weekend. Four members of the Minnesota Vikings made the cut, and not surprisingly, they all have very strong cases as to why they should be considered for enshrinement in Canton.

The first one is Cris Carter. . .who, as we all know, should have gone into the Hall of Fame last season on the first ballot, considering that he is the greatest non-Jerry Rice receiver of all time. I don't really need to make the case for Carter, because we all know that it's a joke that he isn't already in. But, I'll just remind everyone again that when he retired, he was the NFL's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns for all NFL wide receivers not named Jerry Rice. Have I mentioned that him not getting into the Hall last year is a complete travesty? Because it is.

The next Viking on the list is defensive tackle John Randle, making the cut in his first year of eligibility. Randle is one of the great pass rushers of this or any era, and his 137 career sacks (good for sixth on the all-time list) is a testament to that fact. That tally gives him more sacks than any defensive tackle in the history of the National Football League. In fact, there isn't even another defensive tackle in the Top 20 in that department. Outside of Randle, the rest of the list is comprised of defensive ends and linebackers. (Although I think Neil Smith played some DT in his day. . .Randle, however, was almost exclusively a DT.) Randle is also the main character in one of the all-time great football-related commercials.

I don't think Randle has much of a chance of getting in on his first attempt. I think he'll get in eventually, but it will more than likely take him a while.

Next up, and making his second appearance on the list, is Randall McDaniel. I don't need to make the case for McDaniel, either, because he was quite simply the best offensive guard of the 1990s, bar none. He was an 12-time Pro Bowler and a 7-time first team All-Pro. He was also the only guard to be named to the All-Pro team in every year of the 1990s (whether it was first or second team). He dominated from the guard spot from the moment he stepped on the field his rooke year, and could probably still get the job done right now. Again, he might not make it this year, but if he doesn't get into the Hall eventually, they should probably just stop having a Hall of Fame all together.

The last Viking on the list is defensive end Chris Doleman. That list from earlier with the top 20 all-time sack leaders? Yeah, Doleman's on it at #4. He's also #3 on the list for sacks in a single season for putting up 21 in 1989. Another in the long tradition of outstanding Minnesota defensive lineman, he was part of a group that was truly dominant when he teamed with Keith Millard, Henry Thomas, and Al Noga during that 1989 season. Doleman had 21 sacks that season, but Millard was right behind him with 18, Noga put up 11.5, and Thomas put up 9. The team as a whole posted 71 sacks that year, a total that's second only to the 1984 Bears (72) for most sacks by a team in NFL history. Doleman had a great career, but with Bruce Smith being a lock this year at the DE spot, he'll probably have to wait at least another year before he gets enshrined.

All four former Vikings that made the cut this year should eventually make it to Canton. If one, or even two, of them manage to get in this year, I'd be willing to guess that the Vikings will be opening up the NFL pre-season in Canton for the Hall of Fame Game, which would be a nice bit of recognition. Good luck to the four of them, and here's hoping that we have a little something to celebrate in early February.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

2008-11-27T14:10:29Z

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year again. That time of year where we get together with friends and family, gather around the table, and eat obscene amounts of food, followed by an afternoon (and evening) of football or whatever else is on television. In my case, I'll be changing things up a little bit by taking my wife (who is Australian) and her friend (who is also Australian) to the movies this evening to see the movie called. . .wait for it. . .Australia. It actually looks like a pretty interesting movie, so that should be a good time.

I'm actually sort of sad that the Vikings aren't playing on Thanksgiving this year. As purplegrey pointed out over in the FanPosts, the Beloved Purple have had a pretty decent amount of success when they play on Thanksgiving. Their most recent Turkey Day appearance came in 2000, when they travelled to Dallas to take on the Cowboys, and came away with a 27-15 victory behind two Daunte Culpepper to Randy Moss TD passes and 148 yards rushing from Robert Smith. The most memorable Thanksgiving appearance for the Beloved Purple was probably two years before that, also against the Cowboys, in a game that saw Minnesota win 46-36 thanks to 359 yards and 4 TDs from Randall Cunningham. Three of those TDs went to Randy Moss. . .Moss' only three catches of the afternoon. . .on touchdown tosses of 51, 56, and 56 yards.

Overall, the Vikings are 5-1 on Thanksgiving, having won contests in 2000, 1998, 1988 (against Detroit), 1987 (against Dallas), and 1969 (against Detroit). Their lone Thanksgiving Day loss came in 1995 as they lost a 44-38 shootout at the Silverdome. That ties them with the Miami Dolphins for the best winning percentage on Thanksgiving Day.

So, what am I thankful for? Well, lots of things, to be honest.

--I'm thankful that I have a beautiful wife and the two best dogs ever to come home to every day after work and to live out my life with.
--I'm thankful that I'm a part of the greatest military that the world has ever known, and to be a part of the work we do around the world.
--I'm thankful that SBNation took a chance on some guy with no real blogging experience. . .or any real writing experience, other than ranting on his own personal website about his team. . .and gave him an opportunity to talk daily about the Minnesota Vikings. 2 1/2 years later, I'd like to think I've done pretty well here.
--I'm thankful that there were six teams in the 2007 NFL Draft that thought they could draft somebody better than Adrian Peterson.
--I'm thankful that I never have been and never will be a fan of the Green Bay Packers, because it would be impossible for me to put together that amount of arrogance or give myself that much of a sense of entitlement.
--I'm thankful to each and every person out there that visits this site on a daily, weekly, monthly, whatever basis. Without you guys, this site is pretty much nothing. With you guys, it's one of the biggest and most popular Viking communities out there. Give yourselves a pat on the back for that.

How about you guys? If you're out there this afternoon and can pull yourselves out of a tryptophan-induced coma for a few minutes, let everyone know what you're thankful for!

Probably won't be on much for most of the rest of the day, folks. . .so, until tomorrow, have a Happy Thanksgiving! And, for crying out loud, if you're going out shopping early tomorrow morning, keep yourselves safe and keep yourselves sane.

Bears vs. Vikings: The Throwbacks Come Out at Night

2008-11-25T23:13:04Z

Props to VikesFaninNC from the Purple Pride forums for tipping everyone off to the following:

Yes, believe me. . .I realize that we're 0-1 wearing these jerseys, and that the last time the Vikings wore them, some guy set some touchdown record on our home field. But there's something great about seeing these jerseys again, too.

(Doesn't look like the image pasted in there the way I had hoped, either. Ah, well, the general idea is still there.)

Yes, thanks to the Packers getting themselves kicked from one side of the Superdome to the other last night, this Sunday night's matchup is a battle for sole possession of first place in the NFC North. The winner of this one should have an inside track to the NFC North crown.

Hang on a second. . .yes, NFL.com is reporting that the Saints have, indeed, just scored again.

But, let's take a look at how Sunday night's game will affect the NFC North standings. Now, if Chicago wins, the Vikings are in BIG trouble, as not only would Chicago have a one-game lead over the Beloved Purple, but they also will have swept the season series from the Vikings as well, meaning any tie between the two teams would go to Chicago. That would be a huge advantage for Da Bears, and would put a significant dent into any hopes that the Vikings would have of winning the NFC North. And, since this division sure as heck isn't getting any wild card teams, that would mean the Vikings would be sitting at home this January.

However, assuming a Green Bay loss to Carolina. . .and I think that's a pretty safe assumption to make at the moment. . .a Vikings' win on Sunday night would leave us with the following:

	Overall W-L	Division W-L	Conference W-L	Remaining Games
Minnesota	7-5	3-2	5-3	@ Det, @ Ari, Atl, NYG
Chicago	6-6	3-2	5-5	Jac, NO, GB, @ Hou
Green Bay	5-7	3-1	4-6	Hou, @ Jac, @ Chi, Det

The NFC South has actually been quite helpful to the Vikings thus far. This season, the Vikings are 2-1 against one of the best divisions in football (beating Carolina and New Orleans while falling to Tampa Bay), while the Bears, Packers, and Lions have combined to go 0-9 against that division (and, likely, 0-10 after Green Bay's loss this Sunday).

If the Vikings can pull off a victory this Sunday night against Chicago and avoid giving what should be an 0-12 Lions team their first victory of the season (a la 2001), it would put them at 8-5 (with a 4-2 division record and a 6-3 conference mark) and give them some serious momentum going into a brutal three-game stretch to end the season. A loss to the Bears would be pretty devestating. . .which means we should probably stop talking (or even thinking) about it.

It's Bears week, people. . .it's for first place in the division, and it's for the chance to take one step closer to getting the Vikings' first NFC North title (to go along with more NFC Central titles than anybody else). A victory on Sunday night needs to happen for this team. We'll be here talking about it all week. Why not start right here and right now?

Vikings/Jags Post-Mortem: A Win? By Double Digits?

2008-11-25T01:39:38Z

I apologize for the tardiness in getting this up here, folks. Had a lot of stuff going on after yesterday's game, and haven't been able to get it on the site before now.

As I mentioned in the Game Thread comments early on yesterday, just after the Vikings had scored 14 points in the game's first 95 seconds and people started talking about a blowout. . .these are the Vikings. The Brad Childress Vikings. The Brad Childress Vikings don't "blow teams out" with any sort of regularity. The modus operandi of the Brad Childress Vikings is to play teams close, slug it out until the end of the game, and hope that either a) your team makes a big play, or b) the other team commits a massive screw-up.

But, yesterday afternoon, the Jaguars seemed bound and detemined to get blown out, and the Vikings. . .for once. . .happily obliged.

The game started off with a play that I don't think I've seen before in my years of being a football fan. David Garrard lined up in the shotgun, called for the snap, and Jags' center Brad Meester snapped the ball. . .approximately 6 inches or so. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, Garrard was about 7 yards behind Meester at the time. The Vikings' Napoleon Harris alertly pounced on the fumble, sprinted 26 yards, and the Vikings had a 7-0 lead a whole 13 seconds into the ball game.

After a Jacksonville fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Vikings found themselves with first and goal on a run by Chester Taylor and an end-around by Bernard Berrian. Then, Frerotte handed the ball to Taylor again, and Taylor put on the most beautiful move executed by a Vikings' running back since Adrian Peterson humiliated Kenoy Kennedy at the Metrodome last season, and the Vikings were up 14-0. As you can see by the final score, that turned out to be all the points Minnesota needed. . .but not after making things a little more interesting than they needed to be.

The Vikings were outgained by the Jaguars yesterday by a count of 321 yards to 226, and Maurice Jones-Drew put together what has got to be the quietest 113-yard receiving performance the league has seen in a long time. I know I had to do a double-take when I looked at the box score. Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor, considered by some to be the best running back duo in the league not comprised of backs named "Adrian Peterson" and "Chester Taylor," combined for 24 yards on 9 carries. David Garrard did throw for 317 yards, but only one of those passes found the end zone, and two of them found the hands of Minnesota defenders. He was also sacked four times, a component that was missing in the Vikings' 19-13 loss to Tampa Bay.

The Vikings won despite another lackluster performance from Gus Frerotte. . .and "lackluster" is being generous. Don't get me wrong. . .I'm sure that Gus is a fine human being, and he's a very scrappy competitor and all that. But you'd think that a guy that's been in the league for as long as #12 has would know that there are times when nothing's happening that you need to take the ball and throw it into the fifth row of the stands rather than do something crazy with it. Crazy things like. . .I don't know. . .throwing across your body while rolling out and overshooting your closest target by 10 yards en route to throwing an INT. Or rolling out on 1st and goal from the 2 and losing 10 yards on a sack rather than throwing the ball away.

The latter of those two incidents brings me to my Brad Childress complaint from yesterday, and an illustration of why this team rarely blows anybody out, despite all their talent. The Vikings lined up on that series with 1st and goal at the 2-yard line. They have the best running back tandem in the league on the sidelines. They have a huge offensive line that had been getting good push on the entire series.

Why on earth, then, would you call a designed rollout for a guy with very limited mobility in that situation? Why would you just not slam Peterson and/or Taylor into the line anywhere between 1 and 4 times, take your touchdown, and be happy that you've put the game away?

At times like this, Childress reminds me of a guy that's playing video games with his little cousin. You know that if you're playing your little cousin and you start winning by too many, he's going to start whining and crying and throwing things. . .so you start calling plays and doing dumb things to try to let him at least get close again. He doesn't have any killer instinct at all. He gets his foot on a team's throat, and is content to let them back up again. At some point, this really needs to change. This team has too much talent to try to go the distance in a slugfest every week. . .it would be nice for the Vikings to not just knock a team down early, but then jump on them and continue pounding away until their opponents just lose their desire to fight back.

Other than those two minor quibbles, there's not a lot to be sad or angry about with yesterday's game, and there's never any need to apologize for a win. The Vikings are 6-5, and will spend this week in no worse than a first-place tie in the NFC North. They also have a HUGE game coming up in prime time on Sunday night against the team they're currently tied with, the Chicago Bears. Every week for the last few weeks has been the biggest game of the year for the Beloved Purple, and Sunday night's matchup is no different.

While the Vikings prepare for that, they also await word from the league office about the fate of Pat and Kevin Williams. . .a decision that will have a massive impact on the final five games of the regular season. Whatever happens over the course of this week, we'll be here to talk about it, even over this holiday week. Continue enjoying the rest of your evening, ladies and gentlemen, and GEAUX SAINTS!!

Another Week, Another "Must Have" Game

2008-11-23T16:00:06Z

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (5-5)	GAME #11	JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (4-6)
	@

Date:	November 23, 2008	Location:	Jacksonville, FL
Time:	12:00 P.M. CST	Stadium:	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
TV:	FOX DirecTV Ch. 712	Know Thy Enemy:	Big Cat Country
Gonzo's Prediction:	Vikings 23, Jaguars 20
Final Score:	Vikings 30, Jaguars 12

This game presents some interesting challenges for the Beloved Purple, but it appears that they're challenges that can be overcome and can lead to a Vikings' victory.

For starters, while the Jaguars have arguably the second-best 1-2 running back combo in the National Football League in Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. . .come on, we all know who's #1 in that department. . .they're rush offense is "only" #11 in the NFL thus far. Part of this has to do with the fact that their offensive line has been a mess this season, as they've had to put a bunch of linemen on IR The other part of it has to do with the fact that Jaguars' quarterback David Garrard hasn't had nearly the type of year in 2008 that he had in 2007.

As Jacksonville's starting QB in 2007, Garrard had a TD-to-INT ratio of 18/3 in 12 starts. While his interceptions haven't increased dramatically (he's thrown 6 this year), he only has 8 touchdown throws. He's also averaging a full year less per attempt than he did in 2007, and the Jaguars' receiving corps is relatively suspect. However, like we saw with Jeff Garcia last week, Garrard is exactly the kind of quarterback that the Vikings tend to have trouble with, given his mobility and his accuracy. So, just like last week, the Vikings will have to get a handle on #9 in teal and gold if they hope to win today. It will (or should) be significantly tougher to stop Jacksonville's running game than it was stopping Tampa's, but with the Williams boys still in the middle, they should be able to get it done.

This game also matches up two teams with interesting dilemmas. We know that the Vikings have their troubles on the road, having posted a 1-4 record away from the Metrodome this season. However, the Jaguars' struggles have been on their home turf this year, as they're 1-4 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium and 3-2 on the road. So, the Vikings don't win on the road, and the Jaguars don't win at home. To borrow a phrase, something has to give this afternoon.

One other interesting tidbit I grabbed from USA Today. Last week, the Jaguars had a 14-3 halftime lead against the undefeated Tennessee Titans before falling 24-14. Tennessee's opponents are 2-7 this season the week after they play Tennessee. One of the two exceptions to that? Yes, your Minnesota Vikings, who played New Orleans the week after they played the Titans and managed to win a wild one in the Big Easy. Will the Jaguars be experiencing a letdown after playing the Titans so close, only to see the game. . .and, likely, their playoff hopes. . .disappear? We'll have to find out.

I don't know how many more games we're going to have the Williams Wall for. . .if there's any justice, we'll have them for all of them. . .but if this ends up being their last real hurrah for the year, I think the Vikings have what it takes today to send them off with a close, hard-fought victory.

Game kicks off in two hours, folks. . .hope to see you all here then!

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!

Head Over to The Daily Gopher!

2008-11-22T23:53:11Z

Head Over to The Daily Gopher!

The Gophers host the Iowa Hawkeyes in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale. (It's a pig. Literally.) It's also the last Gophers' home game at the Metrodome.

Official Vikings/Jaguars Injury Reports

2008-11-22T00:56:57Z

Alrighty, then, it's that time of the week again, so it's time to check out the players that are nursing the injuries that could potentially have an impact on this Sunday's game. We'll start out with the Beloved Purple, since they're the road team in this weekend's clash.

Injuries: Minnesota Vikings

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Bobby Wade	thigh	11.20.2008

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Madieu Williams	shoulder	11.19.2008
Jared Allen	shoulder	11.19.2008
Vinny Ciurciu	hand	11.19.2008
Benny Sapp	concussion	11.19.2008
Garrett Mills	ankle	11.19.2008

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
E.J. Henderson	foot/toes	10.6.2008
Heath Farwell	knee	8.11.2008
Kenderick Allen	wrist	8.19.2008
Drew Radovich	shoulder	10.13.2008
Jayme Mitchell	knee	8.11.2008
Michael Boulware	wrist	8.30.2008
Charles Gordon	ankle	11.13.2008

Mills is actually showing up as doubtful on NFL.com's report, and he didn't participate in Friday's practice, so I'd be surprised if we saw him out there on Sunday afternoon. Benny Sapp is also listed as probable at NFL.com, and had full participation in practice today. The rest of the folks that are up there are shown as questionable on NFL.com.

I don't have any concerns about Williams or Allen being out there. Williams was listed as doubtful before the Buccaneers' game and played, and Allen was questionable, so I'd be surprised if either of them were sidelined on Sunday.

Now, let's look at the Jags.

Injuries: Jacksonville Jaguars

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Fred Taylor	neck	11.20.2008
Matt Jones	thigh	11.19.2008
John Henderson	knee	11.19.2008

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Greg Jones	ankle	11.20.2008
Omare Lowe	knee	11.19.2008
Rashean Mathis	foot	11.19.2008
Troy Williamson	groin	11.19.2008

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chris Naeole	hand	10.30.2008
Maurice Williams	biceps	9.10.2008
Scott Starks	knee	9.24.2008
Anthony Cotrone	knee	8.4.2008
Theo Horrocks	foot	8.6.2008
James Wyche	Achilles	8.9.2008
Vince Manuwai	knee	9.9.2008
Jonathan Lewis	knee	8.30.2008

NFL.com shows Lowe and Williamson as "out" rather than questionable. That's right. . .Troy Williamson ran his mouth about Brad Childress while (likely) knowing all along that he wasn't even going to play on Sunday. Well done, Troy. Show us a little more of your class. NFL.com shows the other players on the Jags' list as probable, so we'll have to wait until Sunday to see who's on the field and who isn't.

Introducing SBNation's NEW NFL Scoreboard

2008-11-22T00:41:59Z

That's right. . .from the folks that brought you the SBNation MLB Post-Season Hub and the SBNation BCS Hub comes. . .get this. . .the SBNation NFL Hub!

Basically, this is going to be an evolving scoreboard for all the games during a given week. . .Thursday night, Saturday night, Sunday, Sunday night, Monday night, whenever. It will be just like going to NFL.com, but you'll have all that sweet, sweet SBNation content right at your fingertips.

Go ahead and check it out! Just another outstanding service that will contribute toward this site the best Vikings' site on the web. Because it's a part of the best sports community on the planet.

Troy Williamson, Tough Guy

2008-11-20T12:00:05Z

You don't understand. I coulda had hands. I coulda been a receiver. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it.

Yes, in case you haven't already heard, Troy Williamson has said that he would like to fight Brad Childress in light of the way he departed Minnesota this off-season. He says that the incident stems from the way he was treated when he left the team to attend his grandmother's funeral last off-season.

"After that, I had no more respect for Childress," Williamson said. "That's gone out the window, and I don't see that coming back ever. That bridge is burned. ... It just got bad. I knew it was time for me to go. It was just a bunch of personal stuff on my end that he wouldn't let me handle.

"I ain't going to try to dig it back up because I can really, really go at coach Childress, but I'm not going to do it."

Now, don't get me wrong. . .the Vikings did pretty much do a crappy job of dealing with the situation surrounding Williamson and his family when the incident took place. Sure, they eventually wound up refunding the game check that they fined him and all of that, but it ended up being a PR disaster for the team, and it ultimately led to Williamson making his way out of Minnesota.

However. . .

Troy Williamson was a member of the Minnesota Vikings for three seasons. In those three seasons, he participated in 39 games for the Vikings, starting in 22. In those three seasons, he caught a total of 79 passes for a total of 1067 yards and three whole touchdowns. He dropped numerous big passes in big situations, few bigger than the one depicted above where he didn't have a defender within 15 yards of him.

Williamson didn't have a very good rookie season, which could possibly have been attributed to being "the guy drafted to replace Randy Moss." The Vikings gave him every opportunity to improve. He wasn't particularly good in his second year, either, and his case of the dropsies continued to get worse. The Vikings sent him to the Nike Vision clinic, they gave him the opportunity to catch 20,000+ balls during the off-season (no mention of how many he dropped), and they again supported him.

Troy Williamson didn't succeed in Minnesota. . .and that, quite frankly, is not the fault of the Minnesota Vikings. I'm not saying it's Williamson's fault, either, because he obviously worked hard to get better. The whole thing just didn't work out. But after the complete lack of production that he provided the Minnesota Vikings, he really needs to point all his anger in a different direction. He was paid quite handsomely to not produce for the Vikings for three seasons. He also made a big boy decision about going back home. Did the Vikings handle it badly? Yes, as I've already acknowledged. Did the Vikings attempt to rectify the situation? As best they could, yes.

And what did Williamson do in return? Look back up at the picture above. That's what he did.

Troy Williamson has a right to be bitter with the Vikings. . .he has a right to be bitter at anyone he wants. It's a free country, after all. I, personally, think he's way out of line here. What do you folks think?

Jared Allen Fined, Not Suspended; Cook Out at RT

2008-11-19T19:04:21Z

That's the word from Access Vikings. Allen has been fined $25,000 by the league for his "vicious" hit on Aaron Rodgers, but won't miss any playing time due to a suspension.

Upon hearing the news, Rodgers apparently asked for his binky, a glass of warm milk, and for Mike McCarthy to read him Goodnight, Moon. Again.

Also, in a move that's about a year and a half too late in coming, Ryan Cook is finally being removed from the starting lineup. Artis Hicks, who filled in ably for Bryant McKinnie during his four-game absence, will start this Sunday against Jacksonville. Remember, Cook was selected with the pick that was gained by trading Daunte Culpepper to Miami back in 2006. Man, that deal certainly worked out well for everybody, didn't it?

(And props to Manimal for beating me to the Allen thing. . .stupid having to wait for a break at the day job to update the site.)

Did the NFL Know StarCaps Contained Bumetanide and Didn't Tell Anyone?

2008-11-19T15:26:50Z

According to Pro Football Talk. . .and, again, feel free to take PFT for what you will. . .it appears that that might be the case.

Cornwell contends that Dr. John Lombardo, the administrator of the NFL’s policy regarding anabolic steroids and related substances, testified during the hearing that he learned in late 2006 of the presence of Bumetanide in StarCaps. Lombardo, per Cornwell, did not share this information with NFL players, because Lombardo feared that other players testing positive for Bumetanide would claim that they were taking StarCaps, even if they weren’t.

Says Cornwell: “Dr. Lombardo’s failure to disclose what he knew about StarCaps may have exposed NFL players to the significant health risks associated with the unintentional ingestion of diuretics. If Dr. Lombardo had notified NFL players that StarCaps contained bumetanide, Will, Deuce and Charles would have never used the product to lose weight.”

If this is true, then there's absolutely, positively no freaking way that the league should be able to suspend anybody for the use of StarCaps. None. Because if this is true, the league a) knew that there were players that were using these StarCaps, b) knew that said StarCaps contained a substance that's on the NFL's banned substance list, and c) didn't bother disclosing this information league-wide.

The hearing for Deuce McAllister, Will Smith, and Charles Grant apparently lasted long past midnight last night, and one would have to assume that matters like this one are going to be central to the argument. Cornwell is also representing the Williams brothers in their case, and you can bet that this will be brought up during their hearing as well.

If PFT's source is, indeed, true on this matter, then for the NFL to have not disclosed this information to the league and its players is nothing short of completely irresponsible. As Cornwell mentions, it could have caused a potential health issue. What if one of these players had died on the field like Korey Stringer did from taking these StarCaps and the NFL had sat on this information? The league would have a whole lot more to worry about than a few guys trying to cut weight, that's for sure.

I really, really hope that this is true, and that Roger Goodell ends up looking like the fool and the hypocrite he is in this situation as a result. Maybe then the league can start turning their attention to people who have really done something wrong.

McKinnie to Stand Trial March 16th

2008-11-18T23:53:17Z

So say the folks at Access Vikings:

Vikings left tackle Bryant McKinnie is scheduled to stand trial March 16 on four charges he faces from a fight outside a Miami nightclub last February. The trial date was set today by a Florida judge, according to a Miami-Dade County website.

McKinnie, who was not required to attend today’s hearing, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, including a felony for battery. McKinnie already has been punished by the league for the incident, drawing a four-game suspension to open the season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

However, I'm sure that regardless of the outcome of the actual trial, the league will suspend McKinnie for another four games, due to the fact that a) McKinnie plays for the Minnesota Vikings, and b) Roger Goodell is a joke of a commissioner, and that seems like the kind of thing he'd pull.

Vikings/Bears to Remain on Sunday Night

2008-11-18T13:57:41Z

According to the folks at Access Vikings, the Week 13 game between the Chicago Bears and the Beloved Purple will still be a prime-time game on NBC.

The NFL announced today that the Vikings-Bears game on Nov. 30 will be played at 7:15 p.m. as previously scheduled. That game had the potential to be bumped from the NBC Sunday night game to an afternoon slot that day because of the flexible schedule the league has put in after Week 10 of each season. But with the teams tied for first-place in the NFC North, along with the Green Bay Packers, the league and network saw no reason to make a move. Especially, when one considers the size of the Chicago market.

And, really, there was no reason for the league to change this game. The Vikings and Bears are still part of a three-way race for the NFC North Division title, and this game will go a long way towards deciding that. They also played a shootout earlier this year in Chicago, and while I wouldn't expect another 89 points to go on the board in the next game, it should still be a very close contest.

Yes, I know that the Williamses will more than likely not be there, as they'll probably be serving the legallized raping that they'll receive from Roger Goodell for taking a substance that the NFL had approved for use. . .maybe they should have just stuck to minor drugs like cocaine (which is, apparently, only a three-game suspension) and codeine (which, apparently, carries no penalty at all, even if you possess enough of it to put a brontosaurus to sleep for a month). . .but outside of that one game, the Bears haven't exactly been explosive on offense, and just got shellacked by the Packers by 34 points.

But, the network also obviously sees an opportunity to put the NFL's best player and potential league MVP on in prime-time, and they'd be crazy to refuse that chance. As much as I hate waiting for later games, it's sort of nice knowing that NBC thinks enough of this matchup to have not replaced it with somebody else.

Looking at the NFC North the Rest of the Way

2008-11-17T11:30:04Z

Well, folks, with 6 games left in the 2008 NFL season, there are three teams at the top of the division with identical 5-5 records. It should make for an interesting rest of the regular season, but what are all three of these teams looking at during the rest of the year? Let's take a closer look at the schedules for each of these three teams, as well as what they've done to this point in the year.

Here's how each of the three teams involved in the NFC North race have gotten to their current 5-5 record.

Vikings wins - vs. Carolina, @ New Orleans, vs. Detroit, vs. Houston, vs. Green Bay
Vikings losses - @ Green Bay, vs. Indianapolis, @ Tennessee, @ Chicago, @ Tampa Bay
Vikings current divisional record - 2-2
Vikings current conference record - 4-3

Bears wins - @ Indianapolis, vs. Philadelphia, @ Detroit, vs. Minnesota, vs. Detroit
Bears losses - @ Carolina, vs. Tampa Bay, @ Atlanta, vs. Tennessee, @ Green Bay
Bears current divisional record - 3-1
Bears current conference record - 4-4

Packers wins - vs. Minnesota, @ Detroit, @ Seattle, vs. Indianapolis, vs. Chicago
Packers losses - vs. Dallas, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Atlanta, @ Tennessee, @ Minnesota
Packers current divisional record - 3-1
Packers current conference record - 4-4

That's how we've gotten here. . .now, let's take a look at where we're going.

	Chicago	Green Bay	Minnesota
Week 12	@ St. Louis (2-8)	@ New Orleans (5-5)	@ Jacksonville (4-6)
Week 13	@ Minnesota (5-5)	vs. Carolina (8-2)	vs. Chicago (5-5)
Week 14	vs. Jacksonville (4-6)	vs. Houston (3-7)	@ Detroit (0-10)
Week 15	vs. New Orleans (5-5)	@ Jacksonville (4-6)	@ Arizona (7-3)
Week 16	vs. Green Bay (5-5)	@ Chicago (5-5)	vs. Atlanta (6-4)
Week 17	@ Houston (3-7)	vs. Detroit (0-10)	vs. New York Giants (9-1)

So, there you go. Minnesota has one more conference game remaining than either Chicago or Green Bay does, but it appears that the Vikings the toughest remaining schedule at this point by a fairly significant margin. The last three weeks of the season for the Beloved Purple look fairly brutal, as they have to face three consecutive teams with records of .500 or better. . .Chicago has NO teams on their schedule with records better than .500, and Green Bay only has one at this point. Green Bay and Minnesota also each have the added advantage of another game against the Lions, whereas the Bears have already played both of their games against Detroit.

That SHOULD be an advantage, anyway. The Lions have a chance to be 0-12 when the Vikings travel to Ford Field in December. . .and everyone remembers what happened the last time the Vikings travelled to Detroit to take on an 0-12 Detroit team. . .don't they?

In any event, it should be an interesting final six weeks. Unless the Williams Wall gets suspended for any length of time. If that happens, well, just pretend that this entire post never happened.

What do you folks out there see happening the rest of the way? Can the Vikings pull this thing out, or should we start looking forward to 2009?

Hopefully you're enjoying your Monday thus far. . .we'll see you back here later on for more!