Snatched Away

Vikings coach Brad Childress kept us in suspense about who would be the starting QB right up till game-time. At last it was announced – Kelly Holcomb would take over for an injured Tarvaris Jackson. Holcomb came out looking like the steady veteran we thought he was, completing first-down passes to Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade, and handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson who gashed and zipped and finally ran around the right end to cap the opening offensive drive with an 11-yard touchdown. It looked like big things might be in store for the Vikings and their new QB – alas, that was the last time the team would touch the end-zone all day. In the end the Chiefs would be the team celebrating, after scoring a hard-fought 13-10 victory in their home opener.

The “tale of two halves” line is a little trite, but in this case it’s only too apt. The first half was all about the Vikings – the way they stuffed KC’s Larry Johnson, the way Adrian Peterson ran through and around the Chiefs’ defense to the tune of 99 total yards, the way Kelly Holcomb efficiently managed the game. Even so, it was only 10-3 Vikings at the half. The team’s inability to pile up points despite clearly outplaying the Chiefs made one leery – and indeed, when the second-half started, the game turned. The Chiefs spent the first half trying to get Larry Johnson going despite the Vikes’ punishing run D; in the second half they did what every other team does against Minnesota – abandon the run and just chuck it. That was when the switch was thrown for KC. Damon Huard went from looking like a lame-duck to the solid QB he was last year, hitting TE Tony Gonzalez and rookie WR Dwayne Bowe with sickening consistency, and finally hitting pay-dirt on a fade to Bowe over Cedric Griffin (who simply can’t cover big receivers one-on-one). It didn’t matter, ultimately, that LJ was held to 42 yards on 24 carries – the Vikes’ inability to mount a pass rush left their cover guys on islands against bigger, stronger ball-catchers, and that is usually a recipe for defeat.

The Vikings often overcome their inadequacies in pass coverage by making big, timely defensive plays – but today they managed only one sack and forced only a single turnover (both of which happened on the same play in the first half). The second half was all about the defense’s inability to get to Huard – he had too much time in the pocket, and when the Vikes did blitz, the result was only more holes in the coverage leading to more Chiefs receptions. Whatever adjustment the Vikes needed to make to get things under control was never executed – never mind that the Chiefs still managed only 10 points in the second half; they were dominant enough to outpace a Vikings team that, after some early offensive success, began resembling the squad that floundered and stumbled all over Ford Field in Detroit a week ago.

Kelly Holcomb was supposed to cure a lot of our offensive woes – but he only cured some of them. The good news on Holcomb is that he didn’t get picked off like Jackson in Detroit – the bad news is that he only managed to complete 50% of his passes for a meager 165 yards and no TDs. However, to hang all the blame on Holcomb is unfair – there are other areas of the team that clearly need at least as much work as the QB spot. Let’s start with the offensive line, which allowed Jared Allen and Tamba Hali to jump all over Holcomb, short-circuiting the passing game before it could even get clicking. For a stretch of the late first half and early second half Allen, making his first start after serving a suspension, played like a man possessed, stripping Adrian Peterson to set up a Chiefs’ touchdown just before the half, and basically living for several series in the Vikings backfield. The Allen/Hali combo would ultimately tally four sacks – and throw in a fifth by line-mate Turk McBride, the same man who angered Bryant McKinnie by calling him and Ryan Cook “soft” after facing them in a preseason scrimmage. Rather than make the Chiefs’ D-linemen eat their words, the Vikes blockers did a lot to validate the insults. Yes, they blocked well enough for Adrian Peterson to get him 102 yards and a TD on 25 attempts – but the pass-blocking at times was dismal, and AD spent a lot of the game scrambling around the backfield trying to make something out of nothing (which he was often able to do). The offensive-line is supposed to be a strength for this team, but coming off this game, I have to wonder if we shouldn’t place them in the liability column instead. Yes, Kansas City has an outstanding D-Line – a better one than the Vikings’ when you consider their ability to pressure the QB. The Vikes’ O-line is supposed to be good enough to battle good D-lines at least to a stalemate, but in the second half of today’s game, the Chiefs thoroughly dominated the Vikings in the trenches. At this point, the Vikings’ offensive and defensive lines are both overrated – and KC exposed this fact glaringly. That’s why the Vikes now sit at 1-2, trailing everybody in the NFC North.

More Notes/Observations:

Herm Edwards may be an idiot. In the first half, Damon Huard fumbled on a play where he was hit by Spencer Johnson while trying to throw the ball, a fumble the Vikings recovered. Edwards threw the challenge flag, asserting that Huard’s arm was moving forward when he was hit. Only problem – the ball went backward, making it a fumble regardless of what his arm was doing. Wasted challenge, wasted time-out, one more reason for Chiefs fans to be down on Edwards.

I will reassert what I said at halftime – I don’t think the play where Visanthe Shiancoe‘s apparent TD catch from Mewelde Moore on the option pass was called incomplete should’ve been reversed. The camera angle we saw seemed to show Shiancoe catching the ball, but I say again, the ref was in a position where he could not possibly have missed it, barring a sudden stroke or attack of Herm Edwards-like retardation. Obviously, since we ended up with a field goal there, the call “cost” us 4 points, one more than the margin-of-loss. No doubt fans will bitch about this play all week, but to me it’s a non-issue (unless someone digs up an angle comparable to what the ref had, that clearly shows Visanthe caught it).

Cedric Griffin is kind of killing us. He got dominated in the end-zone by a big strong receiver for the second straight week, surrendering a touchdown. Plus today he missed a tackle on Samie Parker that might’ve stopped a field goal scoring drive. And he whiffed on a pick that again might’ve given us a shot. I’m not sure the guy’s the big up-grade over Fred Smoot that he was supposed to be.

The biggest missed chance of the game was Holcomb’s overthrow of Robert Ferguson after a beautiful play-fake that left the Chiefs D clueless and Ferguson several yards clear of any coverage. I don’t think that one can be blamed on Ferguson being too bulky and therefore unable to stretch out for the ball – Holcomb flat missed him.

Antoine Winfield sliding under Kyle Turley to tackle Michael Bennett was one of the more beautiful defensive plays you’re ever going to see. Winfield had another great tackle in the second half when, while lying on the ground, he somehow managed to get hold of Bennett and bring him down.

Where’s Brian Robison? Where’s E.J. Henderson on the blitz up the middle? Where’s Ray Edwards? Where’s Erasmus James? To paraphrase The Ramones: We need a pass rush and we need it fast.

AD’s stats: 150 total yards, 102/48 run vs. pass, 1 TD, one fumble forced by Jared “The Beast” Allen. The most important stat – 25 carries, with Chester Taylor still on the sideline.

Tony Richardson was inactive for the game, as was Troy Williamson. Who knows what difference those guys would’ve made (probably not much).

It doesn’t do us much good to have an allegedly better-throwing QB if we still don’t ever try a deep pass. Can’t Sidney Rice run? Also, would it kill Bevell/Chilly to call a screen now-and-then?

I love Feist, but if I see the “1, 2, 3, 4″ iPod commercial one more time I’m going to throw a chair through the TV.

Matt Vasgersian is as big a dickhead as he was when he called games for the Brewers. He thinks he’s funny. He’s not.