Packers 24, Vikings 19

Props

The season got off to a frustrating start for the Vikings in Lambeau Field Monday night.  The Purple fell to the Packers 24-19, their fifth straight loss to their bitter divisional rivals, and their first to new Packers QB Aaron Rodgers.  There is much to find fault with in the way the Vikings performed – but first, how about props to the Pack and their newly-minted field general?  Packer fans were rightly skeptical after the way the organization shuffled Brett Favre aside and replaced him with the unproven Rodgers – but the new guy earned some fan faith last night and even got to experience his first Lambeau leap after a sneak to put his team up 24-12 in the 4th.  It’s too soon to mention Rodgers’ name alongside Favre’s obviously, but the new guy did have a couple moments that sounded echoes of the great #4, in particular a long pass to Greg Jennings that shifted the momentum early in the second, and an ensuing touchdown strike to Kory Hall that showed off not only Rodgers’ arm strength but also his ability to calmly run through his progression despite the chaos around him.  He clearly didn’t spend those years on the bench playing with his Gameboy – he was watching Favre and absorbing, and now he has a chance to move on from Favre and hopefully take the organization and fan-base with him (and maybe one day ESPN will even stop bringing Favre’s name up every ten seconds during Packer broadcasts).

Shakiness

It wasn’t all easy for Rodgers – and many of his problems were caused by his own offensive line, who came out looking like they’d never seen a football field in their lives.  The early stages were rife with penalties and mistakes, including a bad exchange between replacement center Jason Spitz (in for starter Scott Wells) and Rodgers.  Some of this uneasiness could possibly be attributed to the presence of Jared Allen, whose match-up with Chad Clifton led to a pair of holding penalties on the Packer left tackle.  Somehow, though, the Packers were able to get their O-line sorted, and that allegedly improved Vikings pass-rush became curiously absent as the game wore on.  This only helped Rodgers, who wound up going 18/22 on the game with 178 yards and 1 TD.  That 18/22 number ought to look achingly familiar to the Vikings – we’ve spent the last couple of years giving up high passing percentages to quarterbacks whom we allow to get way too comfortable in the pocket.  Jared Allen and Ray Edwards talked big about pressuring Rodgers before the game, but ultimately didn’t get it done.  What happened to all those one-on-one match-ups we were supposed to get from teams rolling the protection to Allen’s side?  They must’ve been there at times but guys didn’t take advantage.  And the defense didn’t make life much easier for itself with all the penalties it incurred, notably a series of three straight while trying to stop the Packers on the goal-line.  Overall the game was riddled with penalties – 9 for the Vikings and 12 for the Packers.  Is that just first game sloppiness or a habit that will continue into the season?

Getting Down to It

Now we arrive at the unavoidable: Tarvaris Jackson.  This was the match-up of question mark quarterbacks.  Aaron Rodgers answered his skeptics by winning the game and looking commanding in doing so.  Tarvaris answered his by looking utterly lost most of the first half, rallying the team for awhile in the second half and then ending the game by throwing a pick to Atari Bigby.  The Tarvaris of Game 1 2008 looked pretty much like the Tarvaris of Game 16 2007 – he’s physically talented but inconsistent and occasionally downright atrocious.  He got many of his best results by pulling the ball down and scrambling – something the coaching staff has tried to talk him out of doing.  He managed to hit a couple wide open receivers, including his lone touchdown strike to Sidney Rice, but his deep balls were mostly off-target, he missed some short passes badly and he made a handful of decisions that caused one to wonder if he even knew what that big brown thing in his hand was supposed to be for.  The company line on Tarvaris all along has been that he’s young and he’s still growing and we have to be patient with him – but how long is that patience supposed to last?  He’s not a rookie anymore.  He’s in his third year now and his second as a starter and he still doesn’t seem sure about what he’s trying to do.  And even when he seems to know what throw to make he often isn’t able to deliver the ball.  This ineffectiveness became all the more glaring when contrasted against the smooth command of Aaron Rodgers who was starting his first game in the NFL.  Of course the pro-Tarvaris lobby has its excuses:  It was a road game in a hostile environment; he was playing on a bad knee; he missed a lot of preseason.  Obviously, his knee wasn’t too hurt or he couldn’t have run as well as he did – and if his lack of practice was such a big issue, why didn’t Brad Childress sit him in favor of Gus Frerotte?  And another Tarvaris excuse that’s getting on my nerves:  He just comes out nervous and needs time to settle down.  This doesn’t hold water either – lots of guys come out nervous but don’t perform as dismally as T-Jack did the first half last night, and in the first half of the Denver and Washington games last year.  If the pressure is bothering him so much that he can’t perform even adequately until well into the third quarter when his nerves have calmed, then, quite simply, he is not qualified to lead an NFL team.  And I have a feeling his leash is going to be shorter this year.  Brad Childress and his staff know this is a make-or-break season for them, and if T-Jack struggles they will not hesitate to go to Frerotte.  I hope.

Bright Spot

The game featured few highlights for the Vikings and most of them involved Adrian Peterson.  AD carried the ball 19 times for 103 yards and a touchdown, and added 1 catch for 11 yards.  His most satisfying run featured him trucking Al Harris, the very man who cut his knee out last year and put him on the shelf for a couple of games.  Of course, even when the Vikings do something good, there has to be a “yeah, but.”  In Adrian’s case, it’s “Yeah, but he still has to come out in passing situations.”  Which raises a big question that I’d really like someone on the Vikings to answer:  If Adrian is such a big, strong, physical guy, why is he still not a good enough blocker to stay in on 3rd down and in situations where the team has to pass because it’s behind?  Is he just no good at learning which guy to pick up?  I can’t believe he’s shy about laying anyone out.  Maybe Childress is just convinced Chester Taylor is better in pass protection and is a better receiver.  At any rate, it looks like AD will be spending large chunks of time on the bench for the foreseeable future – unless the Vikings shore up that whole falling behind in the first half problem that killed them down the stretch last season and has already reared its ugly head this year.

A Tight End Who Can Catch

A game ball to Garrett Mills who led the Vikings with 3 catches for 49 yards.  Yes, a tight end led the Vikes in receiving.  Visanthe Shiancoe also managed 3 catches, but had a drop on a reviewed play where he seemed to catch it then have it come loose after he hit the ground.  Mills looks like much the more reliable receiver at this point but Shiancoe got the big fat contract so he’ll still get the starts.  Far be it from Childress to admit he made a mistake signing a guy to a big deal.

Artis Out

Artis Hicks had to leave the game with an elbow injury, and Marcus Johnson came in and did an admirable job bearing up against Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.  And while we’re on the subject of Vikings offensive linemen – did my eyes deceive me or did Ryan Cook get through a whole game without being called for a false start?  The Vikes had 9 penalties and only 1 was on the O-line (Hicks was nailed for holding).  It was a remarkably disciplined effort for our offensive line, which helped AD to a 100-yard game and gave up only one sack (a lot of that should be credited to Tarvaris Jackson who, for all his other issues, does have a fair ability to escape pressure).

Crap Calls

The officials had their problems last night.  Two plays in particular cost the Vikings – an obvious pass interference on Al Harris against Bernard Berrian that wasn’t called, and a terrible spot that put the ball behind the first down marker after Adrian looked like he clearly picked up a new set of downs.  These two blown calls cost the Vikings a chance to run the clock under 2 minutes in the second quarter and maybe go into halftime with a score.  As it was, they needed an illegal man downfield penalty to save them from giving up a bomb TD to Donald Driver, and then got bailed out entirely when Mason Crosby‘s half-ending field goal attempt went way low and was blocked by Cedric Griffin.

Quick Notes

Sidney Rice’s TD catch in the 4th quarter was the first offensive TD scored by the Vikings in Lambeau since Ciatrick Fason‘s rushing score in 2005.

Brad Childress is 0-5 lifetime against the Packers.  If an Ohio State coach went 0-5 against Michigan he would be looking for work.

Bernard Berrian called his injured big toe “a little tired” after the game.  I have that same problem when I drive a long distance.

Chester Taylor carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards.  He caught 3 passes for 21 yards and returned 1 kick-off for 21 yards.

Aundrae Allison returned 3 punts and 2 kick-offs.  Charles Gordon also caught a punt.  The search for reliable return men seems an eternal one for Minnesota.

Charles Gordon had a chance to break up Greg Jennings’ game-changing catch in the second quarter but, despite having his hand clearly between Jennings’ two arms, was unable to make a play.  I can’t remember ever seeing a secondary that was so consistent in its utter lack of ball-skills.  Is this a coaching issue or do these guys just not have it?  I realize also that Tyrell Johnson was suckered by a fake on that play, leaving Gordon one-on-one.  Still – Gordon didn’t make the play, and he should have.

Antoine Winfield and Chad Greenway tied for the team lead in tackles with 8.  Conspicuous by his absence on the defensive log is Jared Allen, who failed to record a single tackle, and ended up on the ground more than I would’ve expected from someone who’s supposed to be All-Pro.

Atari Bigby might want to learn to take a knee after he’s intercepted a pass to ice the game.  He would’ve been on the all-time boner reel if he’d fumbled that sucker and given the ball back to the Vikings.

Ryan Grant failed to crack 100 yards against the Vikes – but did get 92.

Brandon Jackson did a great job modeling Viking tacklers all night.  He wears them well.

What is the deal with our 2-minute offense?  There’s no sense of urgency.  Jackson seems lost.  Childress is yelling at guys to hurry up and Mike Tirico is laughing at them, saying, “Doesn’t anyone call two plays in the huddle anymore?”

I want to punch Wendy Nix in the face.

No one’s a bigger PTI fan than me but Tony Kornheiser sucks balls on Monday Night Football.  Time for him to go.