Monday Headlines On Tuesday: the it's All Good Edition

#1 Chester Taylor Ain’t So Bad Either

Chester Taylor did his best Adrian Peterson impression Sunday, picking the Vikings up on his back and carrying them to victory. Which begs the question: Is AD really that spectacular, or is it our offensive line that’s made him so?

The answer, of course, is that it’s both. Adrian has certainly benefited from having big, gaping holes opened for him by the line, but you’ve got to have the vision and the moves and the speed to hit those holes, and make defenders miss, and turn 6 yard runs into 60 yarders. Chester Taylor obviously has some of those skills himself. He can set up blockers, he can cut, he can run through tackles. The element he lacks of course is that flat-out speed, and that speed is what makes Adrian a cut above everyone else.

There is one area in which Chester is better than Adrian, and that’s pass-catching. We saw on Sunday how proficient Chester is on swings and screens, and those are good plays to use with a QB like Tarvaris Jackson who isn’t necessarily great at the deep throws. Plus they slow down the pass rush some. I’m still hoping that, when Adrian comes back, Chilly will remember Chester’s contribution and get him in the game more.

#2 Obviously Chilly Hasn’t Lost the Locker Room

The talk after the Green Bay disaster was that Brad Childress had lost the locker room. The players were no longer responding to what Chilly was saying, rumor had it, and some even went so far as to claim that Zygi Wilf was close to showing Chilly the door. Funny how much can change with one win. Now the Vikings are looking to get on a roll. They still have playoff prospects. If we just take it one week at a time anything can happen.

And if we lose to the Giants by some dumb score like 34-0, Chilly will be out the door again. That’ll be good for Vikes Geek’s traffic at least.

#3 Darren Sharper Needs to Shut His Yap

The trash-talking and calling out your coaches stuff is fine when you’re an all-pro caliber player I guess, but it gets sort of absurd when you clearly lack the game to back it up. This is a concept someone needs to explain to Darren Sharper who I think made a fool of himself on Sunday when he let a sure interception go through his hands to Ronald Curry for a long gain.

A couple weeks ago, Darren had occasion to criticize the coaches for not devising an adequate game-plan. Darren said:

"We have the playmakers here that are necessary and can get the job done. But the thing you’re saying about getting is more of with the players you have. What can you do to make them more of a playmaker? And what can they do to make more plays? If you have an opportunity to go get the ball or get this block, get this quarterback, cover your guy. That’s what the game comes down to is making plays; when I say get more playmakers I mean just as far as the guys that you have. Make them step their game up.Just let them be playmakers. … If you have guys that have a lot of special talents, have abilities, just go out there and let them do their thing."

So what’s playmaking? Having balls in your hands and letting them squirt through? Sorry Darren, but you don’t have the game anymore. Time to shut your mouth and just go out and do whatever it is you still are able to do – which to me looks like a lot of getting to the ball too late to do anything but fling yourself with Smoot-like timidness at the other guy’s knees in hopes that you’ll be able to bring him down.