Archive for November, 2009

The Vikings have gotten their fair share of breaks this season, both in games themselves and in the scheduling.  And, as you can tell by their 10-1 record, they have made the most of their good fortune. Their luck in the scheduling would seem to be running out, however, with the team facing two contenders, Arizona and Cincinnati, the next two weeks. Oh, but wait a second:  even when the Vikings draw a good team, it seems fortune still wants to smile on them. As we know, quarterback Kurt Warner, the man who led Arizona to the Super Bowl last [...]

Another week, another decisive victory.  My 10 points… 1.  Brett Favre‘s performance was not his best of the season passer-rating wise, but it was his best in terms of spreading the ball around to his main receivers.  Percy Harvin, Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice and Chester Taylor all caught 6 balls, and Visanthe Shiancoe caught 5 (would’ve been 6 if he hadn’t dropped that one smoking fastball Favre put right in the middle of his chest).  Harvin was the top guy yardage-wise with 101, his first career 100 yard receiving game.  Harvin, Taylor and Shiancoe caught touchdowns.  You got the feeling [...]

This one was over by the half.  The Vikings scored 24 in the second quarter to take a 17 point lead, and the Bears never threatened in the second half, despite starting things off with a long kick-off return to set themselves up in great field position (the Bears ended up settling for 3 after a big Vikings defensive stand, and that was basically all she wrote). There are going to be negative things to talk about despite the giant trouncing on the scoreboard and in the stats.  Adrian Peterson had 2 more fumbles.  There were loads of penalties.  The [...]

The Bears did some good things on offense against the Vikings, especially when they ran the no-huddle and let Jay Cutler pick apart the zone.  It looked like Chicago might even keep the game tight, after Cutler’s pretty touchdown pass to Johnny Knox tied it at 7-7 early in the second. Unfortunately, the Bears did some very bad things too.  Cutler threw a pick in the endzone – or, should I say, another pick – and saw Johnny Knox fumble the ball to the Vikes on a kick-off return.  These miscues, coupled with a tipped-ball interception on a play that [...]

During the week, Antoine Winfield gave every indication that he intended returning to the playing field this afternoon against the Bears. Either that was just a smokescreen, or the plan changed somewhere between then and now.  Whatever the case, Winfield is listed among the Vikings’ inactives, meaning they will have to get by without him for yet another week. As expected, Anthony Herrera is also out.  Artis Hicks will start at right guard in his place. For more commentary/goofiness before, during and after the game, hit up my Twitter feed.

Even with all the crazy stuff that’s happened so far this season, there’s still one thing the Vikings haven’t done:  played the Bears. I guess you have to call it a scheduling quirk.  Normally, when teams are in the same division and therefore play each other twice, they’ve gotten in at least one game before week 12. In fact, in the whole long history of Vikings-Bears, this is the farthest they’ve gone into a season without facing each other.  The previous high came in 1984 aka the Les Steckel year, when the two teams didn’t square off until week 9.  [...]

The Hall of Fame has released its list of 25 semifinalists for enshrinement in Canton, and just like last year, that list includes Vikings Cris Carter, Chris Doleman and John Randle. Last year, the list also included Randall McDaniel, who ended up among the few chosen to be added to the roll call of all-time greats. Of the three Viking semifinalists, Cris Carter would seem the most deserving candidate.  Unfortunately for Carter, two of this year’s first-year-eligible HOF locks – Tim Brown and Jerry Rice – are at his position, and I doubt voters will want to put three receivers [...]

The Viking train is rolling so fast and hard right now, it seems that nothing can derail it. Except a major injury to an important player. So far, the only big injury to a starter has been the one suffered by Antoine Winfield, who hasn’t seen any action since the first half of the Baltimore game.  Winfield said he was close to playing against the Seahawks, but the decision was made to sit him one more week – which ended up not hurting the Vikings. Now, Winfield’s foot is healed enough for him to be back in the swing of [...]

Jay Cutler has not been the quarterback the Bears thought they were getting when they traded Kyle Orton and numerous draft picks to the Denver Broncos to acquire him and his howitzer arm. Actually, that is an understatement.  The Jay Cutler the Bears thought they were getting was a Pro Bowl-level quarterback with some possible mental issues; the guy they’ve actually gotten is an interception machine who pouts during the game, makes idiot comments after the game and generally has Bears fans pining for the glory days of Rex Grossman. To Cutler’s credit, he seems aware of how bad he’s [...]

There’s no question the Vikings have been one of this season’s prime time teams.  And now, in reflection of that status, the league has used its flex scheduling powers to bump Minnesota’s December 6th clash with the Arizona Cardinals from the 3:15 Central time slot to the coveted Sunday night 7:20 NBC featured game position. To make room for that potentially pivotal Vikes-Cards game, the league has moved the Patriots-Dolphins match-up to noon on CBS.  Yes Viking fans, it’s really true:  your team is more important than the Patriots, at least in the eyes of the NFL and NBC. The [...]