When you look at the injury reports for Monday night's game between the Vikings and the Patriots, it appears at first glance that the Vikings are relatively healthy. And they are, all things considered. . .particularly compared to the Patriots, who may be without star DT Richard Seymour, among others. All in all, the Patriots have 10 players on their injury report listed as "questionable," and another three (including QB Tom Brady) listed as "probable."
The Vikings, on the other hand, have only a few players on the injury report. DE Kenechi Udeze is listed as questionable (hip), and DT Pat Williams is listed as probable (foot). In fact, there are only a few other names on the injury report.
Unfortunately, that list of names looks like this:
WR Troy Williamson - questionable (concussion)
WR Travis Taylor - questionable (concussion)
WR Marcus Robinson - questionable (back)
WR Bethel Johnson - probable (hamstring)
Yes. . .basically every WR currently on the Vikings' roster has some sort of ailment. Except for Billy McMullen, who simply has a case of notverygooditis. For his sake, I hope we can find a cure in my lifetime for his affliction.
Brad Childress has already stated that Marcus Robinson is not going to be playing on Monday night, so the man that has caught 3/4 of Brad Johnson's TD passes this year will be in street clothes. Williamson and Taylor each missed part of practice yesterday.
Obviously, this could play a huge part in how the offense performs on Monday night. Yes, the Vikings have a weak WR corps, but having the top 2 or 3 guys on the depth chart either out or ailing just makes it even worse. Add into the dilemma that the Patriots run defense is, in my opinion, much stronger than their pass defense. But, with the receiver troubles the Vikes are having, they might not be able to take full advantage of that. If the aforementioned Seymour is out for New England, that might make the sledding a little bit easier, but the Pats could still probably load up to stop Chester Taylor.
Things get more and more interesting the closer we get to this one.