The Viking Age » cam newton

Vikings Survive Miscues, Get Late Breaks in Win Over Panthers

Dan Zinski — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:01:39 +0000

Christian Ponder, Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin were the big stories for the Vikings on Sunday – if you just want to focus on the players who gave the most outstanding and inspiring on-field performances. The real story of the game, if you want to look beyond the feel-good aspects, was how the Vikings were able to overcome a multitude of miscues to keep the score close going into the fourth quarter, then took advantage of some major lucky breaks to eke out the three point win.

Ponder again showed great poise in crunch time, throwing big-time third down passes and leading the Vikings to 10 unanswered points to win the game. But as solid as Ponder and his receivers were when it mattered, the reality is that the Vikings offense had only a so-so day against what is by most measures a bad Panthers D. A big part of the problem was a simple inability to run the correct play. On more than one occasion Christian Ponder looked back to hand off to Adrian Peterson only to discover that his running back was lined up somewhere other than he expected. Even when the Vikings succeeded in the vexing task of completing a basic hand-off, Peterson often found himself without a hole to run through. Only in the second half when Bill Musgrave committed to attacking the Panthers’ defense up the middle, and began craftily switching between Peterson and Toby Gerhart to create run/pass recognition confusion in the Panthers’ D, did the Vikings find a consistent running game. (more…)

Ponder-Led Vikings Pull Out 24-21 Win Over Panthers

Dan Zinski — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:51:08 +0000

The Vikings did their best to choke this one away late, but Carolina ultimately choked bigger, giving the Vikings a hard-fought 24-21 victory. Christian Ponder matched fellow rookie sensation Cam Newton blow-for-blow, and once again showed poise especially on third down. Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe and Devin Aromashodu all chipped in with big plays late in the game to help the Vikings score 10 unanswered points and grab a three point lead with time running down. Carolina seemed poised to snatch the victory away at the end of the fourth after yet another Vikings secondary breakdown allowed a huge fourth down conversion, but luck would not be on the Panthers’ side this day. Carolina suffered a holding call on a Cam Newton run that would’ve given them first-and-goal on the 6, then watched Olindo Mare miss a chip shot field goal. (more…)

Vikings Vs. Panthers: Quick Preview

Dan Zinski — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:23:09 +0000

Welcome to Week 2 of Pondermonium. Today’s game with Carolina is being hyped as a showdown of rookie quarterbacks, but the real match-ups to watch are Adrian Peterson vs. the Panthers’ run D and Steve Smith vs. the Vikings’ secondary. Adrian tweaked his ankle late in the Packer game but he is good to go this week. So is Percy Harvin who is toughing it out despite his lingering rib injury. Anthony Herrera is out after hurting his knee last week and will be replaced by Joe Berger. John Sullivan is back after missing a game with a concussion. Defensively, the Vikings will have to get along without Chris Cook who is suspended for at least four games after his arrest, and may have to survive without Antoine Winfield who continues to nurse a neck injury (that according to Winfield is worse than a strain). Jamarca Sanford is back after his concussion. (more…)