First Half Recap
By Dan Zinski
The first half of the Vikings‘ second preseason game is in the books – and it was in many ways an impressive one for the Purple, who went into the locker room leading 24-13. The defense especially was dominant early, picking off Jets QB Chad Pennington twice in the first quarter and returning both for touchdowns. The second pick, by LB Chad Greenway, happened when DE Ray Edwards got big pressure on Pennington, and the QB, trying to get rid of the ball, threw it right into the arms of Greenway who walked in. Pennington got an earful afterward from Jets coach Eric Mangini, and on the next offensive possession for the team, did not put the ball in the air once. This will only add fuel to the QB controversy brewing in Jetsland ever since Kellen Clemens’s nice performance against the Falcons in their first game.
But back to the Vikes. Yes, Brad Childress must’ve been happy about the turnovers his defense forced in the first quarter – but he might’ve wished his guys had stepped out-of-bounds rather than take both balls in for touchdowns, as this resulted in the Vikes getting only one offensive possession in the first quarter. And since that possession was a three-and-out, the team barely got to look at Tarvaris Jackson and the rest of its offense until the second quarter got underway. The original plan was to play Brooks Bollinger in the second, but Brad Childress was forced to leave T-Jack in just to get him some work. And even then, Jackson only attempted 4 passes total. The second offensive possession for the Vikes was all about running the ball – and they did it impressively. The first time Adrian Peterson touched it, he rattled off a slick 43-yarder, spinning out of the arms of one tackler and scampering down the sidelines, and finishing the play by delivering a blow to tackler David Barrett. Chester Taylor followed that up with a first-down run to the other side. Then it was all Peterson – who capped the drive by punching it in from 3 yards out.
There’s no question that Peterson is explosive, and strong, and knows how to finish off his runs. Everyone’s talking about the tandem of Peterson and Taylor, but given the talent Peterson has flashed this preseason, it would be hard to justify not making him the primary ball-carrier, relegating Chester to somewhat of a second-fiddle role.
Defensively, the Vikings mostly showed what we hoped they would – a stout run defense, a ball-hawking mentality and, most importantly, a pass-rush. The star tonight was Ray Edwards, who put a great spin-move on D’Brickashaw Ferguson and got in Pennington’s face, forcing the second interception. It was a rough night for D’Brickashaw, who also got flattened by Kevin Williams after Darren Sharper‘s pick of Pennington, which Sharper ran in for six. A memorable evening was also turned in by Chad Greenway, whose highlight, besides his pick and run-back, was a terrific screen pick-up and tackle early. Somewhat less memorable was the performance of CB Cedric Griffin who, it’s safe to say, has some work to do. In the first quarter, Cedric got pushed-off on by Laveranues Coles who made the catch, but still in a spot where Cedric could’ve recovered and made the tackle. Cedric’s effort was weak though and Coles brushed past him for a big gain. Later, Cedric tried an arm-tackle on Justin McCareins, and the receiver broke free of him, made a sick move that caused Dwight Smith and Darren Sharper to both lose their jocks and waltzed in for a score. All-in-all, Cedric’s tackling technique looked terrible and sloppy, and the early push-off by Coles seemed to make him uncertain about coming up and pressing receivers.
A few other notes:
Rain and lightning threatened to delay the start of the game, but it ultimately got off on-time. Scratches for the Vikings included DE Erasmus James who just came off the PUP list, LB John Kerr, OL Adam O’Conner, DT Fred Evans aka The Savior and DE Khreem Smith.
Aundrae Allison started the game returning kicks and did nothing to demonstrate that he has any aptitude for the role. Jason Carter returned punts and was similarly unimpressive.
Brian Robison got a little early action at DE and had a nice tackle.
The Vikings’ first offensive play was a play-action fake and deep pass attempt that never came off because of Jets pressure. The team also showed a greater willingness than usual to open things up by going five-wide deep in Jets territory, on a play that resulted in an 8 yard gain for Sidney Rice.
All-in-all, the play-calling showed variety and imagination. The Vikings changed up their types of runs, blending in some inside hand-offs and delays, and mixed in some screens at opportune junctures.
Brooks Bollinger was up-and-down. His highlights were a nice screen to Chester Taylor and a good scramble for a first. He also fumbled on a play where the pass-rusher was right in front of him, and failed to look off a safety on a deep ball, nearly getting picked off.
Alex Reyes looked basically weak on kick-offs, leading us to believe that Chris Kluwe‘s punter job is not actually in jeopardy. The special teams had a nice highlight at the end of the first half when, with the clock running and no time-outs left, the field goal team hurried onto the field and allowed Ryan Longwell to get off a successful 54-yard kick. Fox analyst Troy Aikman remarked that such an efficient drill was the sign of a well-coached team. All I can say is that, in the Mike Tice days, the clock would’ve run out well before the kicking team had a chance to get on the field.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are way better than those two jokers who call preseason games locally, but I still haven’t forgiven Buck for ripping Randy Moss after the fake-moon incident in the playoffs in Green Bay. Buck is a good announcer but a total douche.