| SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (3-6) | GAME #10 | MINNESOTA VIKINGS (8-1) | |||
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| Date: | 22 November 2009 | Location: | Minneapolis, MN |
| Time: | 12:00 P.M. CST | Stadium: | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| TV: | FOX DirecTV Ch. 710 | Know Thy Enemy: | Field Gulls |
| Gonzo's Prediction: | Vikings 31, Seahawks 17 | ||
| Final Score: | Vikings 35, Seahawks 9 | ||
Well, folks, here we are on the precipice of another afternoon of Vikings football. This week's opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, have been a bit of an enigma this year, and have suffered through a couple of significant injuries, including losing quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for a couple of weeks, and they'll be without running back Julius Jones as they face the Vikings this afternoon. Seattle currently comes into this game with a record of 3-6, but they're 3-2 at home and 0-4 when they've had to leave the Pacific Northwest. They've also lost all four of those road games by double digits, with last week's 11-point loss at Arizona being their closest road loss thus far. What do the Vikings need to do to make the Seahawks' road woes continue?
1) Get Adrian Peterson going early - Last week, the Seahawks got beaten up by Arizona rookie Beanie Wells in the second half of their loss to Arizona. Seattle currently has the #10 rush defense in the NFL, but they're still vulnerable to teams with strong rushing games. Hopefully the Vikings can get #28 into form early to clear the two fluke fumbles he had last week against Detroit completely out of his head and open things up for the rest of the offense.
2) Work the mid-range passing game - Josh Wilson, one of Seattle's starters at CB, will be out this week with a concussion, and Marcus Trufant is having some concussion issues as well. If the Seahawks need to devote extra bodies to stopping the Minnesota run game, it should open things up for Brett Favre, Sidney Rice, Percy Harvin, Bernard Berrian, Visanthe Shiancoe, and Naufahu Tahi. (Okay. . .probably not Tahi.) Seattle's pass defense is currently 22nd in the NFL in yards/game, and their pass rush hasn't been that great thus far, so this should be an area the Vikings can take advantage of.
3) Get after Matt Hasselbeck - There's a very easy delineation between the Seahawks' wins and losses this year. When Hasselbeck completes 60% of his passes, Seattle is 3-0. When he doesn't, they're 0-6. The Seahawks have played the last few weeks without future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Walter Jones, and they've gone 1-2 since he was placed on injured reserve, with Hasselbeck taking eight sacks in those games (including four last week against Arizona). This should bode well for the (insert cute nickname for Minnesota's defensive line here), as they really appear to be hitting their stride after their very rude treatment of Detroit's Matthew Stafford last weekend. Look for Jared Allen to get back on track against Seahawks' backup tackle Damion McIntosh.
It's about an hour and a half until kickoff here, folks. Hopefully we'll have quite a bit to get excited about this afternoon as we continue rolling through this homestand and towards the post-season. Hopefully you'll join us here for the best in-game Vikings discussion on the internet.
SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!