Archive for October, 2010

The NFC North just got a little tighter.  On the same day the Packers and Bears both lost, the Vikings scored a grinding 24-21 home victory over Dallas, raising their record to 2-3 while sending the reeling Cowboys to 1-4. To say this was a hard-fought win would be an understatement.  In the first half, the Vikings offense looked just as messed up as it did in the first half against the Jets when it failed to score a single point.  The difference today was a Tony Romo interception setting up the Vikings with a short field.  Brett Favre was [...]

So much for the momentum carrying over from the second half of the Jets game.  The Vikings offense has been brutal so far against Dallas.  Brett Favre is getting crushed.  Adrian Peterson‘s fumbling problems came back, though Favre ended up having the drop count against him.  The Vikes did manage to get one touchdown, capitalizing on a Tony Romo interception. The defense too has been having its problems.  Despite Dallas repeatedly shooting itself in the foot with penalties, the Cowboys have been able to move up and down the field fairly easily against the Vikes, mostly utilizing screen passes and [...]

There have been concerns all year about the ability of Vikings backs to pick up blitzers and keep Brett Favre from being flattened.  That came to a head in the first half against the Jets Monday night when Naufahu Tahi conspicuously failed to identify a blitzing Drew Coleman, who came through unmolested to sack Brett Favre. Brad Childress was visibly annoyed at the lack of pass protection during his press conference after the game, and though he didn’t identify Tahi by name, you had a feeling the fullback would be spending some time in the doghouse.  Indeed, when the Vikings [...]

Per Chip Scoggins on Twitter, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is interested in the Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Coaching position. As many Vikings fans know, Frazier has been an excellent defensive coordinator with the purple. In 2007 and 2008 the Vikings had the #1 run defense in the NFL and in 2009 the Vikings were one of the best overall defenses in the league. Many believe that he is long overdue for a Head Coaching position in either the college or the pros. Last season he spoke with the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks on their openings before those [...]

By my accounting the Vikings have faced one do-or-die game so far this year.  That was three weeks ago against Detroit, a game they had to have to keep their season from completely imploding.  Fortunately they were able to decisively beat the Lions, temporarily allaying fears of a total meltdown.  The key word there is “temporarily.”  Now, that brief respite from panic has expired, leaving the team once again facing a potential catastrophe.  At 1-3, they pretty much have to win today at home against Dallas to preserve their playoff hopes. If they should fall to 1-4, with road trips [...]

Thanks to The Cowboys Blog for inviting me to drop some knowledge on their site in advance of this Sunday’s big-time Vikings-Cowboys match-up.  Here I am talking about Brett Favre, Randy Moss, Brett Favre, the lousy Cowboys offensive line and, oh yeah, Brett Favre.

When the Vikings‘ final injury report comes out later today, Brett Favre will be listed as questionable according to head coach Brad Childress. Favre has been limited in practice all week as he nurses his tendinitis-ridden right elbow.  That elbow caused Favre to suffer accuracy issues Monday night against the Jets. The quarterback did practice on Friday, and looked “OK” by Childress’s assessment. If Favre does play Sunday – and most expect he will despite the ominous injury report listing – he will likely once again be receiving snaps from Jon Cooper, who entered Monday night’s game in place of [...]

It’s been kind of a tough season so far for Jared Allen.  After four games, the allegedly fearsome pass rusher has only one sack to his name – a fact that has not been lost on Viking fandom, which has been mercilessly ripping him.  Amid the hammering, fans have offered up some pretty interesting theories about why Jared’s production has fallen so dramatically.  The big one seems to be that getting married in the off-season has somehow sapped his manly energy.  When Jared cut his mullet for his wife, this explanation goes, he symbolically chopped off his own – well, [...]

WCCO has posted video of Brett Favre suffering a misfortune today during practice. I cannot confirm a rumor that Deanna was the one who threw the ball.

During his Tuesday press conference, Brad Childress promised the Vikings would be making some roster moves to try and fill the void left by Cedric Griffin who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Since the Patriots had no extra cornerbacks they wanted to give up for a draft pick, the Vikings resorted to calling free agents, a process that led them to work out and then sign veteran Frank Walker. Walker played last year with Baltimore, where he notched one interception in 14 games.  He has been in the league since 2003, first with the Giants, then [...]