Archive for October, 2011

Let me start by saying that Donovan McNabb played his best football of the season in the first half against the Bears. For the first time all year the offense had rhythm. McNabb had long stretches of accuracy. He even hit Bernard Berrian a couple of times (Bernard did have one big drop). For once, you can’t place a large chunk of the blame on Donovan’s shoulders. So who gets the blame? How about the offensive line for not giving Adrian Peterson so much as a tiny crease to run through (yes I know the Bears are flooding the box)? [...]

Call it the Battle of the Bottom Feeders. That’s what tonight’s Bears-Vikings tilt amounts to in light of the Packers’ and Lions’ fast starts. Even if the Bears win to get back to 3-3, they will still be two games behind Detroit. If the Vikings win they will still be far back in the pack but at least they’ll have some company in their misery. If the Vikes lose they will be beyond buried. A lot of folks are picking the Vikings to pull off the upset. The Bears look like they’re unraveling at the seams, while the Vikings, after [...]

The highlight of Sunday’s action so far wasn’t an actual play from an actual game, it was the action that went down during and after the post-game handshake between Lions coach Jim Schwartz and Niners coach Jim Harbaugh. The Lions may have lost the game but for my money Schwartz won the douche-off. By which I mean he came off like less of a douche than Harbaugh. Barely. Like The Viking Age on Facebook. Follow Dan Zinski on Twitter.

The Vikings are 1-4 and heading in to a pivotal road match-up versus the hated Bears.  I would love nothing more than a win today, but after watching five weeks of one dimensional offense and weak secondary play, I can’t help but think about next year and the many holes the team will need to fill.  The Vikings could very well turn things around and salvage a solid season, but this isn’t a playoff roster and no matter their final record, this team will need a strong draft as much as any time in recent memory.  Based on my crude [...]

Judson Coleman: Vikings 20 – Bears 17. Cutler sacked 6 times. Tom Simano: Vikings 24 Bears 13, BTwice doubles his season receptions (4 if you’re counting). Also, expect a LB (or 2) to pick up a sack. Scott Wollan: Vikings 21 – 13 Bears, Jared Allen puts jay cutler in the hospital. Dan Zinski: Bears 24-17. Sorry but I don’t have enough faith in McNabb to pick this team on the road even against the crumbling Bears. Brad Tucker: I’ll go high: Vikings 31 Bears 26 Jon Merkle: Bears 7, Vikes 3 Clint Starks: Vikings 20- 17. Great minds Judson Coleman. [...]

I sat down with ChicagoBearJew to play a game of Walk The Blank! See what I did there? It’s normally walk the plank but I changed it to be more Viking-ish. ChicagoBearJew can be followed on Twitter @ChicagoBearJew and you can read his raw, passionate, and honest Bears coverage at www.rantsports.com/chicago-bears. Without further adieu… Clint: The Bears defense is so ______. CBJ: Freaking annoying, frustrating and angering. The safeties are moronic and crappy, the defensive line can’t get a push and the linebackers are beginning to age. I do like the cornerbacks. There’s talent here, but it isn’t living up [...]

I asked Mike Burzawa of Bear Goggles, a top shelf Bears’ blog, five questions about his favorite squad. This is a little TVA installment we like to call 5 Questions. Enjoy! Clint: What is the vibe in Chicago on Jay Cutler? Is it fair to say he just is not developing into the QB they thought they traded for?
 Mike: The funny thing about Cutler is that people actually kind of feel sorry for him.  Whether it’s a lack of wide receivers or getting bounced around like a pinball every week or the cooky Mike Martz playcalling, Cutler just can’t [...]

If the last two games are any indication of what’s ahead for Chris Cook’s career then we may have a star on our roster. So good that Cook just might be the Vikings best defensive player not named Jared Allen. Cook has had the difficult responsibility of primarily covering the best wide receiver on each opponent. So far this season it’s been Vincent Jackson, Mike Williams, Calvin Johnson, Dwayne Bowe and Larry Fitzgerald – no small names there. Only Bowe (5 receptions, 107 yards and a touchdown – note however Bowe’s longest 52 yard reception he was covered by Cedric [...]

Under Duress Sweet Sassy Malassy every Puple headed monster in my closet is all pumped about what Jared Allen could do this Sunday Night. Allen enters the game on Sunday Night with a league leading 8 ½ tackles of the professional passer behind the line of scrimmage. In speaking with the Chicago press, Allen insinuated that it might not be easy for him to get to Cutler. Cutler was under pressure for what seemed like every single pass attempt last week against the Lions. The Love Number Jared Allen thought Cutler and the Bears did well to only give up [...]

Series: Vikings lead 52-46-2 Last Meeting(s): Chicago swept Minnesota in 2010 in two pretty ugly games. In Week 10, Brett Favre threw three interceptions and Chicago won 27-13 at home. The Week 15 game was played on a Monday night in the Gophers’ TCF Bank Stadium during a snow storm. The Vikings had one of those suspiciously too-easy opening drives, which was capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass from Favre to Percy Harvin. Minnesota fell apart after that. The next few drives ended with: a Favre interception; a fumbled snap that killed a third down play (punt); a failed 3rd [...]