Sorry it has taken me a few days to come up with a recap of last week's game, but in all honesty, it was probably the least excited I have ever been about a win. Last Sunday the St. Louis Rams completed a decisive victory over...the St. Louis Rams. The Vikings? Well, they did indeed show up. They hopped on a plane from Minneapolis, took a bus to the Edward Jones Dome, put their uniforms on, and did what they needed to do to win. Scored some points, completed some drives. But honestly, without numerous key turnovers by the Rams, this game could have been a much different story.
So, basically in a nutshell we're left with a generic win. Not an Obama bailout but not exactly a domination either. Turnovers were the difference. A 52 yard fumble return for a touchdown by Jared Allen halted a St. Louis drive that was moving into Vikings territory. Later on in the first half, Stephen Jackson fumbled near the goal line, and Jared Allen once again scooped it up. Yet another promising Rams drive was shut down by a turnover, with the ball popping out of Daniel Fells' hands inside the 10 yardline and ending up in the hands of E. J. Henderson. Those three plays were why the Vikings entered the half with a 17-3 lead.
When the Vikes defense wasn't getting bailed out by St. Louis turnovers, it was busy allowing Kyle Boller to perform well. Once again, the Vikings made a mediocre quarterback look like a Hall of Famer. His effectiveness was aided by Stephen Jackson's surprising success on the ground as well. Overall the Rams offense was well balanced, unlike that of the Beloved Purple.
It was a shocker to see Adrian Peterson only get seven carries in the first half. True, we saw last week that Favre's arm can win a game for the Vikings, but this should still be a run first offense. To be fair, Favre did have yet another solid performance as he continues to get more comfortable with his receiving corps. The Favre-Harvin combo is also displaying that Percy may end up being exactly what I thought he was, the steal of the draft.
But still, there's some reason for concern despite the 5-0 start. This felt like a game the Vikings should have controlled from the opening kickoff, and yet they relied on several turnovers to maintain a solid lead throughout the game. The Vikings defense remains suspect on third downs, which plagued them in the first half of the Packers game as well.
I've heard the argument before: it doesn't matter HOW you win games. Sure, I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty, that goes without saying. But as a gauge for how the Vikings will perform in the next three weeks (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Green Bay), HOW they win games against the easier teams on the schedule does begin to become relevant. If Kyle Boller can carve up the secondary, we have a serious problem. This team can't always rely on turnovers to bail us out.
A quick glance at the scoreboard (38-10) would suggest that this was a dominant victory, but to me the Vikings got lucky this week. Lucky they were playing the Rams, a team that is obviously 0-5 for a reason. I know it's hard to complain when a team doesn't perform to its full potential and still manages to win by several touchdowns, getting the opportunity to rest its key players in the process, but the score was deceiving.
I guess I should feel great that my Beloved Purple is 5-0, but we haven't yet seen them play a complete game. Hopefully that means only more good things to come, but I can't help but wonder if we have already peaked. The next three games will probably show us all who we are and where we may end up...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Packers @ Vikings - Week 4
Last season, had you told me before a Vikings game that Adrian Peterson would rush for 55 yards, average two yards a carry, and lose a fumble that was taken back for a touchdown, the only question I would have asked is "Did we lose by three touchdowns, or did we manage to keep it within two?" Over the last couple of years under the Brad Childress era, when AP had a bad game, the Vikings have gotten beaten. But watching Monday night's game, I just knew things were going to be different.
On a night when the best running back in the NFL just couldn't get himself going, a guy that will turn 40 on Saturday put his new team on his back and showed his old team....and the rest of America's doubters...that he's still got plenty in the tank. After he connected with Berrian on a 31 yard touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 28-14, he was 18 for 21 for 226 yards and three touchdowns. For a team, and specifically a secondary, that said they knew everything there was to know about Brett Favre, #4 spent a lot of time making the guys in green and yellow look foolish.
Favre's performance was good enough to earn him the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week, as he finished up with a stat line of 24/31 for 271 yards, three touchdowns, and for the third time in four games, ZERO interceptions. More importantly, he didn't take a single sack during the entire evening after taking nine in the first three weeks.
This was a pretty stark contrast to his counterpart on the other side, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers spent his night under constant pressure from the Vikings' defensive line, and the pressure came almost exclusively from the outsides, as Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, and Brian Robison continuously made the Packer offensive tackles look silly. Allen wound up with 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and his third safety in the last two Viking/Packer games. Overall the Vikings wound up with eight sacks on the evening.
Not everything about Monday night's game was all sunshine and lollipops though. On the rare occasions that Rodgers did get time to throw, he ripped the Vikings apart pretty good, finishing the game with 376 yards passing and two touchdowns. The Vikings also got mauled by a fast, strong tight end again, just as they did by Vernon Davis last week, as Jermichael Finley (who?) caught six passes for 128 yards, including a 62 yard touchdown that answered the Vikings opening score.
As for the old guy, he seems to be living up to the hype after all. Favre has 8 touchdowns, and just one interception so far this year. Will he be able to maintain his current pace? Well, I don't think he's going to end the season with a 32/4 TD to INT ratio or anything, but I do think he's still going to have a significantly larger number in the TD column than he'll have in the INT column. In any event, it sure as heck has been fun to watch so far, hasn't it?
So, what do we have to look forward to in the second quarter of the season? Well, only one of the Minnesota's next four games will be in the comfy confines of the Metrodome. They'll start this stanza with a trip to St. Louis...a potential trap game if there ever was one...for a date with the Rams before hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6 in what should be an extremely physical, hard-hitting contest. No rest for the Vikings after that, as I travel to Heinz Field to watch them take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. After that game they make the annual pilgrimage to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers again.
It's been a great start to the 2009 season, and I'm happy as heck for those of you who have spent it here with me.
On a night when the best running back in the NFL just couldn't get himself going, a guy that will turn 40 on Saturday put his new team on his back and showed his old team....and the rest of America's doubters...that he's still got plenty in the tank. After he connected with Berrian on a 31 yard touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 28-14, he was 18 for 21 for 226 yards and three touchdowns. For a team, and specifically a secondary, that said they knew everything there was to know about Brett Favre, #4 spent a lot of time making the guys in green and yellow look foolish.
Favre's performance was good enough to earn him the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week, as he finished up with a stat line of 24/31 for 271 yards, three touchdowns, and for the third time in four games, ZERO interceptions. More importantly, he didn't take a single sack during the entire evening after taking nine in the first three weeks.
This was a pretty stark contrast to his counterpart on the other side, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers spent his night under constant pressure from the Vikings' defensive line, and the pressure came almost exclusively from the outsides, as Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, and Brian Robison continuously made the Packer offensive tackles look silly. Allen wound up with 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and his third safety in the last two Viking/Packer games. Overall the Vikings wound up with eight sacks on the evening.
Not everything about Monday night's game was all sunshine and lollipops though. On the rare occasions that Rodgers did get time to throw, he ripped the Vikings apart pretty good, finishing the game with 376 yards passing and two touchdowns. The Vikings also got mauled by a fast, strong tight end again, just as they did by Vernon Davis last week, as Jermichael Finley (who?) caught six passes for 128 yards, including a 62 yard touchdown that answered the Vikings opening score.
As for the old guy, he seems to be living up to the hype after all. Favre has 8 touchdowns, and just one interception so far this year. Will he be able to maintain his current pace? Well, I don't think he's going to end the season with a 32/4 TD to INT ratio or anything, but I do think he's still going to have a significantly larger number in the TD column than he'll have in the INT column. In any event, it sure as heck has been fun to watch so far, hasn't it?
So, what do we have to look forward to in the second quarter of the season? Well, only one of the Minnesota's next four games will be in the comfy confines of the Metrodome. They'll start this stanza with a trip to St. Louis...a potential trap game if there ever was one...for a date with the Rams before hosting the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6 in what should be an extremely physical, hard-hitting contest. No rest for the Vikings after that, as I travel to Heinz Field to watch them take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. After that game they make the annual pilgrimage to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers again.
It's been a great start to the 2009 season, and I'm happy as heck for those of you who have spent it here with me.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
49ers @ Vikings - Week 3
"I don't believe what I just saw!"
The words of Jack Buck couldn't be more appropriate after the game I witnessed on Sunday. Screw the blocked field goal. Screw the fourth quarter drive by the 49ers to retake the lead. Screw the fact that Adrian Peterson was largely shut down today. Screw the fact that Bernard Berrian had one of his roughest games in a Vikings uniform.
Screw all of that. Because the play we saw today, the Brett Favre to Greg Lewis connection for the game-winning touchdown, makes all of the negatives from this game worth overlooking.... at least, for the time being.
This, my friends, is why adding Brett Favre to the mix finally does make sense to me. For games like this. Games when you need a veteran under center, someone who has been in these situations before. So yes, I'm officially drinking the Kool-Aid on Favre.
With no timeouts, Brett took the Vikings on an 80-yard drive. It lasted 1:27 and ended with a 32-yard strike to a double-covered Greg Lewis. Favre will get the majority of the credit for the win, and rightly so. To put it simply, that drive was awesome. But Lewis' catch was spectacular and he certainly deserves all the props in the world. How bout that as your FIRST catch as a Minnesota Viking?!?
Congratulations to Favre. In less than 90 seconds, he won over a fan base that had gradually grown to accept him but still wasn't quite all the way there. If you're not a Favre fan after today, something is wrong. And on a related note, if Favre hasn't won over 100% of the locker room after today, something is seriously wrong.
Schism? What schism?
On another congratulatory note, kudos to Percy Harvin. By now, he's done a nice job of shaming the teams that passed him up in this year's draft. The kickoff return went for 101 yards, and there was never any doubt about it, Harvin flew through gaping holes in San Fran's coverage on his way to a touchdown. Three games for the rookie...three touchdowns. So thank you Percy for making me looking good purchasing your jersey before the season even started.
This is the type of game that sets the tone for a season. With the Vikings' backs against the wall, Favre orchestrated an unforgettable victory, a victory made possible by the simple fact that #4 is wearing purple.
So bring on the Green Gay Fudge Packers this Monday night...
The words of Jack Buck couldn't be more appropriate after the game I witnessed on Sunday. Screw the blocked field goal. Screw the fourth quarter drive by the 49ers to retake the lead. Screw the fact that Adrian Peterson was largely shut down today. Screw the fact that Bernard Berrian had one of his roughest games in a Vikings uniform.
Screw all of that. Because the play we saw today, the Brett Favre to Greg Lewis connection for the game-winning touchdown, makes all of the negatives from this game worth overlooking.... at least, for the time being.
This, my friends, is why adding Brett Favre to the mix finally does make sense to me. For games like this. Games when you need a veteran under center, someone who has been in these situations before. So yes, I'm officially drinking the Kool-Aid on Favre.
With no timeouts, Brett took the Vikings on an 80-yard drive. It lasted 1:27 and ended with a 32-yard strike to a double-covered Greg Lewis. Favre will get the majority of the credit for the win, and rightly so. To put it simply, that drive was awesome. But Lewis' catch was spectacular and he certainly deserves all the props in the world. How bout that as your FIRST catch as a Minnesota Viking?!?
Congratulations to Favre. In less than 90 seconds, he won over a fan base that had gradually grown to accept him but still wasn't quite all the way there. If you're not a Favre fan after today, something is wrong. And on a related note, if Favre hasn't won over 100% of the locker room after today, something is seriously wrong.
Schism? What schism?
On another congratulatory note, kudos to Percy Harvin. By now, he's done a nice job of shaming the teams that passed him up in this year's draft. The kickoff return went for 101 yards, and there was never any doubt about it, Harvin flew through gaping holes in San Fran's coverage on his way to a touchdown. Three games for the rookie...three touchdowns. So thank you Percy for making me looking good purchasing your jersey before the season even started.
This is the type of game that sets the tone for a season. With the Vikings' backs against the wall, Favre orchestrated an unforgettable victory, a victory made possible by the simple fact that #4 is wearing purple.
So bring on the Green Gay Fudge Packers this Monday night...
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Vikings @ Lions - Week 2
So I read Kevin Seifert's NFC North blog at ESPN.com about the lack of "explosion" from guys not named Adrian Peterson in the Vikings' offense, and one guy in particular. This is a good point he brings up, however the Vikings are 2-0 with a quarterback who quite clearly doesn’t have a firm grasp of the nuances of their offense. Favre is tossing to his checkdown receivers and making other high-efficiency throws at a historic rate relative to his career, essentially using the Vikings’ soft early schedule to catch up on a nonexistent offseason.
Now that Favre has essentially played his pre-season when you consider his two actual pre-season games and his two efforts against Cleveland and Detroit to start the regular season, you would think that the offense might now start opening up a little bit, especially with the Vikings finally getting to head to the Metrodome for their next two contests.
It's a bit arrogant to say. . . or even imply. . . that a team has looked at a couple of regular season opponents as "tune-up" games before they really get into the swing of things, but the more I think about it, the more it becomes pretty clear that that's how Brad Childress looked at the games against the Browns and the Lions. The Vikings have come out sluggish in both of their contests thus far in 2009, having gone into the locker room against Cleveland trailing 13-10 and trailing Detroit 10-7. Against the Browns, they came out in the second half and scored 24 unanswered points before allowing a garbage-time touchdown in a 34-20 victory. Against the Lions, they scored the last seven points of the first half and the first 20 points of the second half en route to winning 27-13. That gives them a margin of 44-10 in the second half of the first two contests. . . and, frankly, that's what good football teams do. They come out of the locker room at halftime, make the necessary adjustments, and destroy the team on the other side of the line from them.
And, yes, I just used the phrase "make the necessary adjustments" to describe a team coached by Brad Childress. Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are.
As of now, Brett Favre is on pace to throw a mere 384 passes at his current rate of 24 attempts/game. That would be, by far, the lowest total of his NFL career. Adrian Peterson is also on pace thus far to only rack up 320 carries. Then again, if he were to somehow keep up at his current pace. . . not likely, but work with me here. . . he'd rush for 2,176 yards and 32 touchdowns this season, both of which I think we could handle.
Is the Vikings' offense full of flash at this point? Outside of Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin, it is not. But right now we have a quarterback that's clearly still learning this offense, yet still went out on Sunday and completed an astonishing 85% of his passes (and is at a 77% clip on the season thus far). They have the best player in football lining up in the backfield, and a serious Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate lining up wherever the Vikings want to put him. They still have the steady inside presence of Visanthe Shiancoe, they still have the deep speed of Bernard Berrian, and they still have the outstanding athletic ability of Sidney Rice.
Is the Vikings offense going to continue along the path it is now? It's hard to imagine that it will. It's going to get a heck of a lot better before things are all said and done.
Now that Favre has essentially played his pre-season when you consider his two actual pre-season games and his two efforts against Cleveland and Detroit to start the regular season, you would think that the offense might now start opening up a little bit, especially with the Vikings finally getting to head to the Metrodome for their next two contests.
It's a bit arrogant to say. . . or even imply. . . that a team has looked at a couple of regular season opponents as "tune-up" games before they really get into the swing of things, but the more I think about it, the more it becomes pretty clear that that's how Brad Childress looked at the games against the Browns and the Lions. The Vikings have come out sluggish in both of their contests thus far in 2009, having gone into the locker room against Cleveland trailing 13-10 and trailing Detroit 10-7. Against the Browns, they came out in the second half and scored 24 unanswered points before allowing a garbage-time touchdown in a 34-20 victory. Against the Lions, they scored the last seven points of the first half and the first 20 points of the second half en route to winning 27-13. That gives them a margin of 44-10 in the second half of the first two contests. . . and, frankly, that's what good football teams do. They come out of the locker room at halftime, make the necessary adjustments, and destroy the team on the other side of the line from them.
And, yes, I just used the phrase "make the necessary adjustments" to describe a team coached by Brad Childress. Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are.
As of now, Brett Favre is on pace to throw a mere 384 passes at his current rate of 24 attempts/game. That would be, by far, the lowest total of his NFL career. Adrian Peterson is also on pace thus far to only rack up 320 carries. Then again, if he were to somehow keep up at his current pace. . . not likely, but work with me here. . . he'd rush for 2,176 yards and 32 touchdowns this season, both of which I think we could handle.
Is the Vikings' offense full of flash at this point? Outside of Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin, it is not. But right now we have a quarterback that's clearly still learning this offense, yet still went out on Sunday and completed an astonishing 85% of his passes (and is at a 77% clip on the season thus far). They have the best player in football lining up in the backfield, and a serious Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate lining up wherever the Vikings want to put him. They still have the steady inside presence of Visanthe Shiancoe, they still have the deep speed of Bernard Berrian, and they still have the outstanding athletic ability of Sidney Rice.
Is the Vikings offense going to continue along the path it is now? It's hard to imagine that it will. It's going to get a heck of a lot better before things are all said and done.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Favre 4 Life??
Thought this was interesting...This is a map that shows the most popular NFL jerseys sold by state. Do any of the states that are colored in as purple strike you as a bit funny? (Hint, the state directly east of Minnesota)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Browns @ Vikings - Week # 1
By halftime of yesterday's game, there weren't a lot of reasons to think that 2009 was going to be any different than 2008. Despite the presence of Brett Favre, the Vikings' passing game was limited to dinking and dunking down the field, Adrian Peterson was on the sidelines losing his lunch, and the punt coverage unit had given up another huge return for a touchdown to the highly dangerous Joshua Cribbs.
Then the second half started, and we got the first installment of Season Three of The Adrian Peterson Show.
The single best player in the entire NFL spent his halftime getting an IV after dealing with dehydration. The weather in Cleveland was a bit warmer than anticipated, and the dehydration caused him to only gain one yard in the second quarter of play and only 25 yards on 9 carries in the first half overall. However, he came back in the second half with a vengeance, and on 16 second half carries he gained 155 yards. His last carry was the most impressive, as he took a handoff and traveled left. As he got to the sidelines, he broke one tackle, and then hit Browns' cornerback Eric Wright with a pie-face, sending Wright about three yards into the sidelines. After a very nice assist from Sidney Rice, Peterson soon found himself in the end zone celebrating a 64-yard touchdown run that pretty much iced the game for the Beloved Purple.
So yeah.... #28 in purple is the single-best player in the National Football League, and you're going to have a hell of a time convincing me that it could possibly be anybody else.
The Vikings' defense was, quite frankly, suffocating yesterday afternoon. While Jared Allen spent most of his afternoon being pretty well handled by Browns OT Joe Thomas, the rest of the front seven had Brady Quinn running for his life all day long. The Vikings' defense brought Quinn down five times. While the run defense was uncharacteristically soft, ultimately allowing 4.5 yards a carry to the Browns, the pass defense did a fine job. . . and don't worry about Jared Allen. He doesn't have to go against Joe Thomas every week.
Cedric Griffin managed to notch an interception for the Vikings as well, as Brady Quinn hit him on a perfect fade route during the third quarter. The third quarter was the real turning point of today's game, as the Vikings held the ball for over 12 minutes.
Oh, what about that Favre fellow, you say? Well, he did what we want him to do. . . he completed a high percentage of passes (14/21 or 66.7%), he managed the game (zero turnovers), and he made plays when the Vikings needed him to. The two best examples of that came in that aforementioned third quarter. The first came on the Vikings' opening drive after halftime, facing a 3rd and 10 from the Cleveland 33 and facing a heavy blitz, Favre hung in. . .and hung in. . .until the very last second, where he released on a tight end screen to Visanthe Shiancoe, who picked up 11 yards and kept the drive going. The drive ultimately concluded with Peterson's second TD run of the day and gave Minnesota a lead they'd never relinquish.
The other came on the Vikings' next drive, which came after the Cedric Griffin interception. After a sack gave the Vikings a 2nd and 18 from the Minnesota 21, Favre took a shotgun snap, calmly stood in the pocket, and absolutely drilled a pass to Percy Harvin that turned into a 21-yard play and a first down for Minnesota. That drive concluded with Percy Harvin's first NFL touchdown, a six-yard pass from Favre to make the score 24-13. Guess sporting the Harvin jersey in Week 1 paid off.
It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops for the Beloved Purple. The one sore thumb from yesterday's game was the same one that stuck out for a better part of last year, and that was the special teams. It started out with a call I absolutely hated, as Ryan Longwell unleashed an awful onside kick on the opening kickoff that gave the Browns the ball at midfield. If you have a defense like Minnesota's, just blast the ball deep and go for the field position. The Browns' offense didn't do much today before garbage time, and giving an offense like that a short field is a recipe for disaster.
The other special teams failure can be largely pinned on punter Chris Kluwe, and it came towards the end of the first half. Kluwe's punt towards the dangerous Josh Cribbs was a low line drive that Cribbs fielded, made one move to his left, and went basically untouched for 67 yards and a touchdown that put Cleveland ahead going into the locker room. Not every team has a return man as dangerous as Josh Cribbs. Hopefully that play was more of a function of Cribbs being one of the NFL's most dangerous return man than it is of the Vikings' special teams relapsing from what they showed us last season.
All in all, it wasn't as smooth as most of us would have liked, but the Vikings went on the road and beat an opponent by 14 points. . . and it conceivably could have been 21, if not for the Vikings playing their second-string defense for most of the Browns' final drive. And I expected it. This is what the Vikings were supposed to do in this game. They've gotten themselves off on the right foot for 2009, and can start preparing next week for a divisional tussle against Detroit. Hopefully, with the rust having been shaken off, things will go more smoothly in Week 2 than they did in Week 1 and we won't have to sweat quite so much. Of course, we remember what happened in our two meetings with Detroit last year. . . and if you've forgotten, I'm sure we'll be reminded of it on a few occasions over the next seven days.
The Vikings are 1-0, ladies and gentlemen. Here's hoping that it's the start of something big.
Then the second half started, and we got the first installment of Season Three of The Adrian Peterson Show.
The single best player in the entire NFL spent his halftime getting an IV after dealing with dehydration. The weather in Cleveland was a bit warmer than anticipated, and the dehydration caused him to only gain one yard in the second quarter of play and only 25 yards on 9 carries in the first half overall. However, he came back in the second half with a vengeance, and on 16 second half carries he gained 155 yards. His last carry was the most impressive, as he took a handoff and traveled left. As he got to the sidelines, he broke one tackle, and then hit Browns' cornerback Eric Wright with a pie-face, sending Wright about three yards into the sidelines. After a very nice assist from Sidney Rice, Peterson soon found himself in the end zone celebrating a 64-yard touchdown run that pretty much iced the game for the Beloved Purple.
So yeah.... #28 in purple is the single-best player in the National Football League, and you're going to have a hell of a time convincing me that it could possibly be anybody else.
The Vikings' defense was, quite frankly, suffocating yesterday afternoon. While Jared Allen spent most of his afternoon being pretty well handled by Browns OT Joe Thomas, the rest of the front seven had Brady Quinn running for his life all day long. The Vikings' defense brought Quinn down five times. While the run defense was uncharacteristically soft, ultimately allowing 4.5 yards a carry to the Browns, the pass defense did a fine job. . . and don't worry about Jared Allen. He doesn't have to go against Joe Thomas every week.
Cedric Griffin managed to notch an interception for the Vikings as well, as Brady Quinn hit him on a perfect fade route during the third quarter. The third quarter was the real turning point of today's game, as the Vikings held the ball for over 12 minutes.
Oh, what about that Favre fellow, you say? Well, he did what we want him to do. . . he completed a high percentage of passes (14/21 or 66.7%), he managed the game (zero turnovers), and he made plays when the Vikings needed him to. The two best examples of that came in that aforementioned third quarter. The first came on the Vikings' opening drive after halftime, facing a 3rd and 10 from the Cleveland 33 and facing a heavy blitz, Favre hung in. . .and hung in. . .until the very last second, where he released on a tight end screen to Visanthe Shiancoe, who picked up 11 yards and kept the drive going. The drive ultimately concluded with Peterson's second TD run of the day and gave Minnesota a lead they'd never relinquish.
The other came on the Vikings' next drive, which came after the Cedric Griffin interception. After a sack gave the Vikings a 2nd and 18 from the Minnesota 21, Favre took a shotgun snap, calmly stood in the pocket, and absolutely drilled a pass to Percy Harvin that turned into a 21-yard play and a first down for Minnesota. That drive concluded with Percy Harvin's first NFL touchdown, a six-yard pass from Favre to make the score 24-13. Guess sporting the Harvin jersey in Week 1 paid off.
It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops for the Beloved Purple. The one sore thumb from yesterday's game was the same one that stuck out for a better part of last year, and that was the special teams. It started out with a call I absolutely hated, as Ryan Longwell unleashed an awful onside kick on the opening kickoff that gave the Browns the ball at midfield. If you have a defense like Minnesota's, just blast the ball deep and go for the field position. The Browns' offense didn't do much today before garbage time, and giving an offense like that a short field is a recipe for disaster.
The other special teams failure can be largely pinned on punter Chris Kluwe, and it came towards the end of the first half. Kluwe's punt towards the dangerous Josh Cribbs was a low line drive that Cribbs fielded, made one move to his left, and went basically untouched for 67 yards and a touchdown that put Cleveland ahead going into the locker room. Not every team has a return man as dangerous as Josh Cribbs. Hopefully that play was more of a function of Cribbs being one of the NFL's most dangerous return man than it is of the Vikings' special teams relapsing from what they showed us last season.
All in all, it wasn't as smooth as most of us would have liked, but the Vikings went on the road and beat an opponent by 14 points. . . and it conceivably could have been 21, if not for the Vikings playing their second-string defense for most of the Browns' final drive. And I expected it. This is what the Vikings were supposed to do in this game. They've gotten themselves off on the right foot for 2009, and can start preparing next week for a divisional tussle against Detroit. Hopefully, with the rust having been shaken off, things will go more smoothly in Week 2 than they did in Week 1 and we won't have to sweat quite so much. Of course, we remember what happened in our two meetings with Detroit last year. . . and if you've forgotten, I'm sure we'll be reminded of it on a few occasions over the next seven days.
The Vikings are 1-0, ladies and gentlemen. Here's hoping that it's the start of something big.
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