Vikes playoff chances.

 So, the Minnesota Vikings, a team all the "experts" and analysts for every magazine, news paper, and major TV sports outlet agreed wouldn't win more than 4 games, are now sitting in the 6th seed of the NFC playoff bracket. Weird. I called it before the season started. I'm not saying that I'm the man, or that it's completely obvious that I'm more knowledgeable than most, or anything like that. I'm just saying, everyone said I was crazy when I predicted a 9-7 season with a shot at a wild card berth. Now the Vikings sit at 8-6 in the final wild card spot.
 Now don't get me wrong, I definitely didn't think that all this would happen with a QB that averaged LESS than 6 yards a completion and a RB that's averaged MORE than 6 yards a carry. It definitely hasn't been a "status-quo" type of season in Minnesota. Just look at the victory over the Detroit Lions in September. The only touchdowns the Vikings scored were on...special teams? It's just that kind of year I guess.
 Now, as my hero Hunter Thompson would say, "Let's get down to brass tax here". Can the Vikings win a road game against the AFC's number 1 seed Houston Texans this weekend and remain in playoff contention? Well let's look real close at the match-ups here. The Texans have a bunch of guys that do... whatever, and  the Vikings have an Adrian Peterson, so the answer is clearly YES! The Vikings can beat the AFC's number 1 seed Houston Texans!

                                                             
 See folks, this is that special brand of hard-hitting sports journalism that lets you know that I did absolutely no research at all before writing this. The fact is, no amount of research can help predict what's going to happen with this Viking team. I mean if you were talking about ANY other team in the league over the last 20 years and said "well, i predict that the quarterback will throw for under 75 yards and at least one interception, but the running back will run for over 200 yards, the kicker will boot 5 field goals from over fifty yards, a defensive lineman will most likely return an interception for a touchdown and the team will win 30-28 after nearly blowing a 25 point 4th quarter lead" People would look at you like you were a maniac. But not Vikings fans this year. We just think to ourselves, "yup...that sounds about right."
 So I say we just sit back and enjoy the ride. Adrian is on the brink of making history and has already cemented his place in Vikings fans hearts with the comeback he's made. Ponder's struggles have gotten to the point where they almost amuse me. We have a kicker that in any other season would be a candidate for rookie of the year, and let's not forget that we have a player that often goes overlooked even though he currently leads the NFL in tackles, LB Chad Greenway is having another pro-bowl calibur year. Now look at these women...

                                                                             
                                                     
 So I'm just going to kick my feet up and scream wildly at my TV this Sunday. Whatever happens I just hope Adrian has another big game. I think every true football fan in the country wants to see this man break that record. So enjoy the game this weekend Viking fans. SKOL!
and as always, the Packers suck.

                                                                                   

It's a "make-or-break" proposition

                                                      

 I want to begin this week a little differently than usual, I would like to tell you my opinion as to why Adrian Peterson should be not only the NFL's Comeback player of the year for obvious reasons, but ALSO be awarded the leagues prestigious MVP award. First I have to say that seeing the same old predictable media darling QB's win it is becoming a bit ho-hum if you ask me. The past 3 recipients are: Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, who each won it twice in the last 5 years. Now, while this is becoming boring and predictable, I must admit that each one of these guys clearly deserved to win in the years that they won the award. This year however I am hard pressed to see how any of these guys are as valuable to their team as Adrian is to the Vikings. Sure, Manning is having a stellar year, but lets not forget that Tim Tebow was able to win games with this same team last year, so it should be expected that Peyton do the same. Rodgers and the Packers had a very slow start, and while they have improved, I am still not convinced that they are the same dominating squad they have been over the past few years. Tom "terrific" Brady is, well...ok he is great, but for the sake of this argument he sucks and he dresses like a fruitcake.

 Adrian is playing on the same 3-13 team they had last year. Still have a HUGE question mark at the QB position. Still lack a legitimate deep threat. In fact, aside from AP's clone, Percy Harvin, I'm not even sure if the vikings have a wide receiver on their Roster. The offensive line is suspect at times, and the coaches couldn't call a decent gameplan with a pistol to their faces. If you mix all this together its a recipe for 8 and 9 man defensive fronts from the opposing team on EVERY down. Any normal, healthy tailback would have trouble gaining any significant yardage in these circumstances. The Minnesota Vikings however have a genetically enhanced cyborg in the backfield. Less than 1 year after completley shredding his knee (assuming it has "knees")  Adrian Peterson has lead his otherwise mediocre, mundane football team to a 6-4 record and leads all rushers in the NFL with a remarkable 1.128 yards with 7 trips to the endzone as well. Please explain to me how any other player in the league is as valuable to their team as that....Go ahead...I'll wait.

 

 As for this weeks game against the bears, Jay Cutler will be prancing around the field for the Bears as doctors have cleared him to play after that awesome hit, which is DEFINITELY worth watching over and over and over again. ( you can do so here : http://youtu.be/CMRgX81eqe4). Sure I would have rather seen Jason Campbell but I think with that pathetic offensive line the Vikings pass rush should be effective no matter who is under center for them.
 The Bears defense however is where the Vikings look to be in big trouble this week. Just watching this unit play is pretty amazing. I've never seen a team go after the ball like these guys do. They have a total of 30 takeaways. 30!! They have 19 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries, which is just ridiculous, not to mention that they have returned 7 of those picks to the house.
 So we will see what happens when you match a quarterback with bad accuracy and questionable decision making against one of the most ball-hawking defenses the NFL has ever seen. Oh yeah, and our only threat at WR is out with an ankle injury. So I think we can expect to see a heavy dose of the soon-to-be MVP, Adrian Peterson, in this game.

                                   
 If the Vikings do pull of the win, they will hold the tie-breaker in a 3 way tie for the divion lead.

As always, the Packers suck! (so do the bears!)

SKOL vikings!

op-ed by Jordan Nadel

Another NFC west challenge

Ok,
Let me begin by apologizing for my absence the past few weeks, I would love to provide an excuse for this but it was 100% pure laziness,.

 Anyway I'm back and there is alot to cover this week as the 5-3 Minnesota Vikings get ready to take on the 4-4 Seattle Seahawks. Let's start with the Seahawks, they have the best new uniforms in the league hands down and one of the top defenses to go with it. The defense is top 5 in almost almost all categories, although they do have trouble getting off the field on 3rd down and seem to be vulnerable to the short pass game.
 But it's a whole different story on the offensive side of the ball where they rank 27th or lower in every category except rushing. Marshawn Lynch is 2nd in the NFL in rush yards with 757 (1st place is obviously the monster we love, Adrian Peterson with 775) and is a threat to break a long run every time he gets the ball, especially against a VERY suspect Minnesota run defense. The Seahawks will be getting some more help at WR as Doug Baldwin is set to return this week, so this should help out Russel Wilson who has shown flashes of brilliance, as well as typical rookie mistakes. And the last note I have to make on this Seattle team is a very important stat, all 4 of their wins have come at home. The Seahawks boast the leagues best homefield advantage, and I'm sure that as always the 12th man will be in full force come Sunday.

 Now let's see what the Vikings are bringing into this hostile enviroment. We have the afore mentioned cyborg that leads all rushers, and in case you didn't see it before, Adrian Peterson was the hulk for Halloween, and all he had to do was paint himself green!!

 That is insane, anyway, we've all heard over and over and over how remarkable his comeback has been, and I'm sure he will impress again on Sunday.

 We bring a trainwreck of a QB, who after such a promising start to the season is just falling apart. I have faith he will get it figured out real soon, now he may have some difficulties this week against such a stout defense, but like i said before, this defense has been gashed by short-passing QB's and that is Ponders game. Which brings us to Percy Harvin. Do I really have to say anything here? Best player in the NFL? MVP candidate? Percy brings 60 catches on 79 targets for 667 yards. Pretty impressive considering he usually catches the ball within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. 

 On the other side of the ball we have yet another league-leader. Chad Greenway leads the league in tackles with 81. That said it didnt look like ANY Viking defenders were Doug Martin last week. It was the worst defensive performance of the season, and things were only made worse when CB Chris Cook went out with a broken arm. I have been very impressed with 1st round pick Harrison Smith who continues to improve each week, and as always, Antoine Winfield is a hard hitting presence back in the secondary.

 This should be a great game, with so many X-factors anything is possible. And before we begin hating the Seahawks, let's take a moment to reflect on the time they screwed the Packers...

Ahhhhh....That's nice....

Purple, 17 Seahawks, 14

NOW...begin hating the Seahawks, and always remember, the Packers suck...

SKOL!

Jordan Nadel

NFC north showdown

  What a week it has been.
Got to see the Vikings, who according to many of the national talking heads were going to be the worst team in the league this year, give the 49ers a good old fashioned ass-whippin. We also got to see the pack and Lions lose to give the Vikings a share of the lead in the NFC north.
 Well I think this week will be even better. Adrian Peterson has always had HUGE games against the Lions, and I think this will be the game where he shows the fans that he really is ready to get back to being an explosive touchdown machine. I'm also very excited for the debut of pot-head acrobat reciever Jerome Simpson. From everything we've seen in training camp and the preseason games our STUD quarterback, (did i really just say that?!?) has a great chemistry with Simpson and the big play opportunities for Harvin will dramatically increase with a legitimate deep-threat on the opposite side.
 From what I've seen progress over the first 3 weeks with this offense has me believing that this will be the week we see them really start to come together and put points up and move the ball. Like i said, Ponder is balling his rear end off out there, leading the league with a 70.1 completion percentage and boasting a QB rating of 104.9. He doesn't have monster stats through 3 weeks, 719 yards and 4 tds (not counting the one he ran for last week), but they are pretty damn decent. The one number that really sticks out to me is the 0, as in how many turnovers he has this year. He is making great decisions and not forcing anything into coverage. Last year I thought Ponder was a bum but I anticipated a great improvement this year and so far he has looked like a franchise quarterback, greatly exceeding my expectations.
 And my final note on the offense is this, the 49ers front 7 are arguably the best in football and the Viking O-line really handled their business against them. If they can play like big bullies in every game and allow Ponder time and make lanes for the Viking runners then they have a chance in every game they are in, so lets hope that keeps up.

 Another place I think the Vikes really showed improvement last week was on the defensive side of the ball. Now I'm not sure if this is because they have got their stuff together in the secondary or if Alex Smith was just being the the Alex Smith we are used to seeing, but the Vikes secondary was making plays and being physical, which allowed the front 7 to really get more pressure than what we saw in the first 2 weeks. Like I said last week, the linebackers are really playing well. They were a big question mark going into the season, especially with E.J. not coming back and I think players have really stepped up, so hopefully that can happen again this week with Henderson and Raymond not playing this week. I predict that Jared Allen will get a ton of pressure on Stafford, who will be playing hurt, and get a couple sacks in this game. And my final note on the defense is this, the Vikings are strong against the run, once again ranked #1 in the NFL, and Detroit doesn't have much of a ground game to begin with, so they can make the Lions totally one Dimensional and double cover Megatron and blitz Stafford, which should lead to turnovers and a Viking victory.

In what will be their first (and last for awhile) match against a divion opponent, the Final score: Purple 27, Lions 21

as always, the packers suck...
SKOL!!!!!!!

Jordan Nadel

2-1 Vikings team, possible NFC sleeper?

Vikings stun "Leagues best team", 24-13

 As the Vikings failed to punch the ball into the endzone on 3 straight run plays, I was thinking to myself..."Musgrave.", in much the same way as Seinfeld would mutter "Newman...". So it looks like another long drive capped off with a Blair Walsh field goal, Great. But I was shocked to see they were going for it on 4th down, wait a minute...now this game has a different feel to it. I wasn't as concerned about the actual score itself, which was a beautiful touch pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph, but more the fact they were willing to go for it. That said to me that the coaching staff was starting to loosen the reigns, and once i saw they were willing to take some risks to win this game I knew the 49ers were in trouble.

 Ponder continued to impress, completing 21 of 35 attempts for 198 yards and 2 TD's, and added a 23 yard rushing score that might have reminded 49er fans of one of their old favorite QB's. His completion percentage did take a dip, which is to be expected against a secondary as good as what the 49ers have, but still has not turned the ball over. He continues to make good decisions, never forcing anything deep into coverage and taking what the defense gives him. I'm excited to see what happens once Simpson is available to play next week. I think this lowly Minnesota offense may surprise a lot of folks in the coming weeks if Ponder continues to be this efficient combined with an ability to throw to a reliable deep threat.

 Kyle Rudolph is emerging as one of the leagues more dangerous tight ends. He put up 2 TDs on 36 yards recieving again today. One of the touchdown catches was a beautiful one-handed catch while falling down in the back of the endzone. The other Notre Dame tight end the Vikings aquired in free-agency, John Carlson, dropped what would have been his first catch of the season, but im sure he will get rolling soon. And of course, number 12 was just out there playing his ass off and moving the chains again...ho-hum, just another day at the office for Harvin.

 As i said in the "keys to victory" post earlier this week, the vikings secondary did play more bump and run coverage, jamming recievers up on the line and allowing the pass rush to hurry Alex Smith in the pocket. The defense as a whole played good, the linebackers (who were without starter Erin Henderson) played great. Chad Greenway was a beast, making tackles all over the field and putting up 2 sacks. The defensive line was physical and Jared Allen finally got the elusive first sack of 2012, not to mention DT Letroy Guion blocked a David Akers filed goal, allowing the offense to set up the rookie Blair Walsh for yet another 50yd+ field goal at the half.

 Toby Gerhardt and the Officials were also impressive. I've never seen a tailback fumble 3 times on 3 straight rush attempts until today, nor have I ever seen an NFL team be awarded 5 timeouts in one half until today. So kudos to them.

 In conclusion, The Vikings BEAT the 49ers!!! That is awesome! Nobody gave them a shot in this game and they dominated the line of scrimmage, time of possesion, and the turn-over battle (until they put Gerhardt in). I predicted before this season that the Vikes were a 9-7 team, and 2-1 is not a bad start! We as Viking fans have a win we can really hang our hopes on, and if this offense really starts clicking the sky's the Limit.

As always the Packers suck.

SKOL!

Jordan Nadel

Vike's face a tough task this Sunday

"Favre rolls...wants to throw deep and does....to the back of the endzone, Greg lewis...TOUCHDOWN!!!!!" 

One of the best plays in recent Vikings history. I get goosebumps whenever I think about it, BUT...this Minnesota team is a wee bit different now, as is this 49ers club

So, Its tough to find any glimmer of hope the Vikings have in putting a notch in the win column this weekend aginst the unbeaten San Fransisco squad that many have picked to become the Super Bowl champions. I mean lets face it, the matchups don't look favorable. The Viking's glaring weakness is stopping the pass, while the 49ers like to pound the ball with Frank Gore, they also have an array of talent that can move the ball through the air in a variety of ways. The Vikings offensive bread and butter is the run game, the 49ers have the best defense in the league against the run. Now...with all this said, I believe in the "any given Sunday" philosophy, so i think if the Vike's try some new things they can at least make this game interesting, and dare i say, possibly... win???

The Vikings have been playing alot of zone defense, and opposing QB's have been slicing it, connecting with recievers in-between the zones, especially on 3rd down, I think the vikings corners would have success playing some press man coverage and jamming targets up on the line of scrimmage, allowing Jared Allen and Co. to apply pressure to Alex Smith.

On the offensive side of the ball, Bill Musgrave has to, HAS TO, open up more of the passing playbook. I know Ponder has limited targets on the outside, but the 49ers will bring a safety down to stop the run, so the wide-outs should see alot of 1 on 1 coverage, and hopefully they are able to take advantage of it. I personally would like to see what the Arkansas rookie, Jarius Wright brings to the table. from everything I've seen of him at Arkansas, it looks like he can stretch the defense deep, or run good routes over the middle. Also, Stephen Burton who caught a fluke touchdown last week has burned Carlos Rogers before, granted it was preseason but let's get him in there too! The chemistry between Ponder and Rudolph keeps getting stronger, and Rudolph is a mismatch for just about any linebacker or safety that tries to cover him so I hope to see them exploit this early and often

Those are my keys to the game, Its going to be a tough game for the Vikings to come out on top, but if they do pull it off it willbe a HUGE statement, and nothing short of another Minneapolis miracle.

Here's some other games to keep an eye on this weekend:

Browns vs. Bills- two upstart teams that feature two strong young RBs

Redskins vs. Bengals- both young QBs have impressed, I just cant wait to see what RGIII does next.

Eagles vs. Cardinals- which team will remain unbeaten?

Broncos vs. Texans- two teams with pro-bowl QB's, and defenses with a knack for taking your football away. Was monday night a fluke for 18, or should the Broncos be concerned?

thanks for reading, Packers suck.

SKOL!

Jordan Nadel

Minnesota comeback comes just short due to stupid ass penalties and nonexistent pass defense

So week two of the 2012 NFL season is in the books, and another comeback by the Minnesota Vikings just couldn't be executed. There were alot of negative things I observed in the contest between the Vikings and the Colts, and we will go over those, but i am a "good news first", or "glass is half full" kind of guy, so lets look at the positives first.
I was very impressed with the play of "no mercy" Percy Harvin again this week. He avaeraged almost 9 yards per reception, catching 12 balls for 104 yards. You cant help but be in awe of the toughness of this kid. He plays so hard and always fights for the extra yard, Not to mention he was the only bright spot in the recieving game while he was suffering from cramps.
The Colts really did a good job of stopping the run, but I was happy to see 28 out there running hard. His performance did take a step backward this week,only rushing for 60 yards on 16 carries, but it was due to the Vikings offensive ineptitude and not any lack of ability on Petersons part.
My faith in Ponder continues to grow. I really like the strides he has made with his decision making. He completed 27 of 35 passes but this number would have been higher if he had any legitimate wide-outs, other than Harvin, to get the ball to. He demonstrated good mobility, escaping pressure and completing passes on a few occasions. I really think the kid has all the tools needed to be a high calibur NFL quarterback, and I wish Musgrave would stop calling such vanilla, predictable games and take the reigns off the passing game and let number 7 develop and shine. He does need to focus on throwing the ball away when he is aboput to get sacked.
The linebacker core was a huge question mark going into the season, but on this defense, which is a sub-par disappointment to say the least, I think the young linebackers are a bright spot. I have been very pleased by the play of Erin henderson, who has racked up 22 tackles and 2 sacks this year, and Jasper Brinkley has been very effective against the run. Of course Pro-bowler Chad Greenway remains a consistant threat in both the run and pass game.
I thought we would seriously miss... whats his name? Oh yea, Ryan Longwell. Yet I am amazed with this rookie kicker booting the ball for the vikes. Blair Walsh is a perfect 6 for 6 with two 50+ yd field goals (and is KILLING it for my fantasy team!) and consistently pins the opponent deep in their own territory with those booming kicks of his.

Now, while i remain optimistic because of all the things mentioned above lets face it, the Vikings SUCKED in this game, from awful playcalling to stupid penalties, to bad tackling, they sucked, sucked, SUCKED!
I already mentioned the lame gameplans that offensive coordinator, Bill Musgrave, provides so i will start there. The Vikings offense is so predictable that even I could effictively gameplan against it. It's not until late in the 2nd half, when the Vikes are trailing that they open up the playbook, and when they do this the Vikes are able to move the ball. I understand they want to keep it basic so the young QB doesn't make mistakes, but in a season where not alot is expected why wouldnt you want to see what Ponder has to offer? Go deep. Run an end-around. Try some bootleg passes. SOMETHING! What do you stand to lose? Its brutal to watch and I hope they change the approach next week vs the 49ers.
I cant even tell if they have a secondary on the field in these games, or if those are just spectators in the defensive backfield. The last 2 weeks the oposing QB's, one of which was a rookie, and the other was the worst QB in the league in 2011, have looked like pro-bowlers. The defensive line is unable to get any pressure, and if they do get near the quarterback they fail to wrap him up. Brian Robison had an easy safety served on platter for him yesterday, but somehow failed to bring Luck to the ground. Jared allen chased Luck out of the pocket and out of bounds on a 3rd and long but then negated what would have been a good stop with a late hit penalty that resulted in an Indy 1st down, and eventually 6 points. This was just one of MANY rediculous penalties we saw from an undisciplined young Viking team, but the difference is Jared Allen is one of the best in the league and should know better than this.
All in all I think if they can erase the mental errors and open up the playbook they can begin to build on the positives I listed above. They need someone in the secondary to step up and start making plays, I cant remember the last time I saw the Vikes get a pick. And if Allen wants any shot at a sack record he better get his boys on that D-line to get their asses in gear.
This upcoming game will be a real test of where the team is, and I hope im writing alot more about positives than negatives.

SKOL!

-Jordan Nadel