Archive for November, 2009

Even while enjoying their bye week, good things keep happening on the field for the Vikings. The good things I refer to are a pair of somewhat stunning losses just suffered by the Purple’s two main opponents in the NFC North.  Down in Tampa, the Packers failed to mount a late rally against the previously winless Buccaneers, and lost 38-28.  Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Bears got their butts absolutely handed to them by the Arizona Cardinals, despite Jay Cutler’s 369 yard, 3 TD performance. I’m not sure which development was more shocking:  the Packers going all Redskins and handing the [...]

The Vikings have been one of the biggest stories in the NFL all season, and now, Vegas is warming to them too.  The latest odds (courtesy of Bodog.com) place the Purple at 7/2 to win the NFC, and 8/1 to claim their first Lombardi Trophy. At 3/1, the Saints are right now considered the best bet to emerge victorious from Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, with the Colts right behind them at 5/1 and the Patriots at 11/2.  New Orleans is the favorite to claim the NFC at 3/2, followed by the Vikings, the Eagles at 13/2 and the Cowboys [...]

How does one sum up the talents of Viking phenom Percy Harvin?  Noted locker room grappler Adrian Peterson tried it by whipping out an unusual animal analogy culled from his rural experiences. “I call him a young hog,” Peterson said while gushing about Harvin’s abilities.  “I’m from the country and I know how wild boars get after you. That’s how he is. He breaks so many tackles, I’m sure he’s got tons of yards after the catch. He’s just a gift. He’s a tremendous athlete. He comes in each week, he works hard and he goes out and plays his [...]

Monday’s 10 Points: 1.  I don’t know if the emotion of the homecoming helped Brett Favre, but it certainly didn’t hurt him.  One thing’s for sure:  Brett likes playing against the Packers.  In his two games against them this year, he is 41-for-59 with 515 yards, 7 TDs and no picks.  2 of his 3 highest QB rating games are against the Packers (the other was against Baltimore).  And it’s not like you can just chalk it up to familiarity with the Packers team either:  they’re playing a different defense now than the one they had when he was there.  [...]

We’ve seen this bit before.  The Vikings build a big lead, only to watch their defense go softer than Minnesota snow, letting the other team back in. That’s why, as the Packers clawed their way up from the bottom of a 24-3 well in the second half today, we experienced such a sinking feeling. Aaron Rodgers, after spending the first half getting battered, finally got some pass protection, and began finding the gaping holes in the Viking defense.  And the Packers got close enough to make a game of it. But, as was the case during the 4th quarter defensive [...]

Packer fans booed Brett Favre lustily when he trotted onto the field for his first game at Lambeau as a member of the enemy. By halftime, Favre had shut up the thousands of bitter cheeseheads by leading the Vikings to a 17-3 lead.  With a lot of help from Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin (whose long kick return set up the first TD) and a defense that had Packer QB Aaron Rodgers running for his life. The Packers were not helped on the first Viking TD drive when, after Minnesota appeared to have been held to a field goal attempt, Johnny [...]

You knew things would get crazy when Brett Favre returned to Lambeau Field.  You just didn’t know the craziness would extend to the pregame injury reports. The madness began much earlier today when it was suggested by FoxSports.com’s John Czarnecki aka the Czar that Bernard Berrian would not play today despite being listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report. Maybe that was the plan initially, but after Berrian got out on the field and tested his bad wheel, the decision was made that he could go, and start. We also learned – from the normally reliable Jay Glazer – that [...]

The Vikings experienced something last weekend in Pittsburgh that they hadn’t all season:  losing.  Now they long to spit that sour taste out of their mouths, and once again drink deep the sweet nectar of victory. But it is no ordinary nectar they seek to partake of this Sunday afternoon in Green Bay.  It is, instead, the sweetest of all delights:  victory over the Packers. To be slightly less flowery about it:  beating the shit out of the Packers always feels better than beating the shit out of anyone else. And not just because they’re the #1 rival.  There are [...]