Vikings Stock Market Report: Cowboys

You ever been in a situation where you knew...just knew...you were going to do well?  Like a big exam in school, or presentation at work, something like that?  You were prepared, you knew you were going to kick ass, and you did.

Yeah, that's not how I feel about the Vikings.  As a matter of fact, I feel like they're the complete opposite.  They prepare and have some success, yet they ultimately fail.  They compete and rally, but they inevitably collapse, carnage all around them.

It's like cheering them on to their own doom every week.  The Washington Generals against the Harlem Globetrotters, the Charge of the Light Brigade, or the 7th Cavalry against Crazyhorse, we know they're heading towards certain doom, yet they have to go, maybe with a false sense of security, but an underlying dread of what's to come.

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand
They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island

We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Your SMR that goes into the breech once more follows..

Blue Chip Stocks:

Adrian Peterson, RB: Man, Adrian Peterson.  I love Adrian Peterson.  That touchdown run that put the Vikings in the lead was one of the best efforts I've ever seen.  I think it's actually my favorite run ever, even more than him trucking William Gay in Pittsburgh  There's not a lot more you can say about him that hasn't already been said.  I'm just going to enjoy watching him run with fury until he retires.  I've never really been a guy that cheers for individuals over team colors, but if All Day were to end up somewhere else I'm pretty sure I'd be a big fan of that team.

Christian Ponder, QB: Ponder had a good day.  He made some good throws, ran it in for another, lead the Vikings on a fourth quarter drive to take the lead with just over five minutes top lay, and generally made good decisions with the football.  On the day, he was 25/37 for 236 yards, and when Dallas loaded the box, Ponder did a good job of making Dallas pay for it more often than not, for the first time in a long time, if ever.

Solid Investments:

Brian Robison, DE: Robison played a solid game, registering two sacks and helped stop an opposing running game for once.

Kyle Rudolph, TE: After Christian Ponder gave up a fumble in the end zone, Rudolph helped get the Vikings back to within three points with a 31 yard catch and run that rivaled Peterson's touchdown run for effort.  Unfortunately, it was Rudolph's last play, as he was injured and didn't return.

Junk Bonds:

John Carlson, TE: I'm done with him.  Done.

J'Marcus Webb, RT: Bears uniform, Vikings uniform, doesn't matter.  Still terrible.

Christian Ponder, QB: And this is the double edged sword with Ponder.  For all the good he did that was listed earlier, he also looked tentative at times, tucked the ball and ran instead of throwing to open receivers, and gave up a fumble in the end zone that Dallas recovered for a TD.  Ponder supporters point to the fact that he drove the Vikes down the field to take the lead late and it was the defense that coughed up the lead, and that's true.  But Ponder detractors point to two missed opportunities where the Vikings should have scored touchdowns instead of field goals, knowing that the defense was really short handed.  And after taking the lead and getting the ball back on the Dallas 41 thanks to the Jefferson pick, Ponder threw an incomplete pass, and on 3rd and nine Ponder ran for four yards.  Vikes punt, Dallas gets the game ball, and game over.

You just can't go three and out there, can't.  Drive the dagger in, step on their throat, and end it.  And the offense couldn't.

Buy/Sell:

Buy: Christian Ponder leading a fourth quarter drive to tie the game or take the lead. You know, for all the criticism heaped on Ponder, he can come up with some clutch drives.  He's done it five or six times just thinking off the top of my head.  And when he goinks something up, he has a knack to bounce back.  Throws a pick six in Chicago, drives the Vikings down the field for a TD.  Gives up a fumble for a touchdown, turns right around and throws a TD pass.  No, he's far from consistent, but the guy can perform when he absolutely has to.  Now, if we could work on the rest of the game.

Sell: Christian Ponder throwing a Hail Mary to win a ball game...unless it's from like the 30 yard line. So when Dallas so predictably drove down the field and took the lead with under a minute to play, the Vikes still had a shot.  Granted, it was a small one, but they had to get to midfield, give or take, and Ponder had to heave a throw into the end zone.  Hey, anything could happen.  The Vikes have both been the victim and the beneficiary of a last second Hail Mary, and Nebraska managed to pull one off against Northwestern on Saturday.  So anyway, back to our story.  The Vikings manage to get to midfield in spite of themselves, and there's time for one more play.  The Vikings receivers jet to the end zone, Ponder rolls out, lets the BALL FLY...and it bounces on the five, nowhere near anyone.  Seriously?  What the hell kind of noodle arm is that?

Buy: The improved play of the secondary for 55 minutes. I can't complain too much considering the Vikings are a MASH unit in the secondary, and they lost Xavier Rhodes during the game.  They managed to keep Dez Bryant in check, Mistral Raymond laid the WOOD on a deep pass, Andrew Sendejo laid the WOOD on run support, and AJ Jefferson even got the first interception from a defensive back all year.

Sell:  The last five minutes. For all the good, Romo still played pitch and catch with ease, and the defense once again gave up a back breaking, game losing touchdown with less than a minute to play.  Because of course they did.

Don Glover Quote of the Week:

So the Cowboys get the ball back with just over four minutes left.  We both know how this will play out--we've seen this play out too many times before.

"I'd tell you to turn it off because we both know what's going to happen.  Ah Hell, just leave it on. Got nothing better to do."

So that's where we are with the Vikings this year, we watch because we've got nothing better to do.  How far we've fallen.