Sunday, December 19, 2010

NYG@MIN Recap

The Vikings were deal unkind circumstances early Sunday morning when buildup from snowfall caused the roof of the Metrodome to collapse. The game against the New York Giants was moved to Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. Brett Favre's streak of consecutive games started came to an end due to injury, leaving Tarvaris Jackson thrust into the primary role against an intimidating Giants defensive unit. The Vikings were befuddled by the Giants defense, unable to build any kind of momentum, and in the end the Giants won 21-3.

One can easily guess the Vikings offense had a poor day when they notice running back Adrian Peterson had only 26 yards on the ground. Peterson has been the foundation on which any Vikings offensive success is built, and he was not able to carry the team on Monday. However, Peterson's trouble was certainly not a reflection on his ability, as the Giants were able to stack the box against a quarterback that has struggled in most of the opportunities the Vikings have given him. The pass rush of the Giants dominated the evening. Tarvaris' mobility, something usual starter Brett Favre lacked, gave him no advantage, as he was often left holding the ball too long after finding no open receivers. The absence of burner Percy Harvin didn't help matters, leaving Jackson with Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe and a group of below-average receivers. The offensive line can't really be blamed for the offensive performance, as they were protecting a QB who was in his first start of the year against one of the premier defenses in the NFL. The Vikings were given plenty of chances early in the game, thanks to early Eli Manning interceptions, but were unable to do much with them. The defenders of New York made sure of that.

Running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw tore throw the Vikings, each amassing over 100 yards and a touchdown. Jacobs got most of his yards on a powerful 73-yard run, while Bradshaw had a 48-yard scamper of his own, a touchdown making the score 21-3 and all but sealing the Vikings fate. New York quarterback Eli Manning started out slow with two interceptions but eventually settled into a rhythm, connecting with tight end Kevin Boss on a 6-yard touchdown pass right before the half expired. Hakeem Nicks was Manning's favorite target Monday, racking up 96 yards on 7 receptions. On the Vikings' side, Kevin Williams and Jared Allen had nice games. Williams made several great tackles for loss in the Giants backfield, and Allen continued his sack streak, making it six games in row in which he has gotten to the quarterback. Nonetheless, the rest of the Vikings defenders were able to corral the backs of the Giants, and New York's ability to build a lead allowed their pass rush to pin their ears back against a vulnerable Vikings offense.

The Giants simply looked like the better team Monday night. Both teams dealt with travel issues over the weekend, and it appears the Giants handled it better. The postseason is out of the picture for the Vikings now, and with the next two games against strong playoff contenders it looks like they may have problems even reaching .500 before the end of the season.

Friday, December 10, 2010

BUF@MIN Recap

Coming off a close victory at Washington the Vikings were focused on beating the Buffalo Bills and making some sort of run towards the end of the 2010 season. Although the playoffs remain highly improbable, the team from Minnesota looked completely different against the Redskins- a motivated team with something still to play for. The momentum of interim head coach Leslie Frazier's first win carried onto Sunday as the mostly Favre-less Vikings destroyed the Bills by a tally of 38-14.

Quarterback Brett Favre injured his shoulder three plays into the game, leaving Tarvaris Jackson as the man to lead the Vikings to victory and for the most part, he was. Jackson was efficient on the day, completing 15 of 22 passes and throwing for 187 yards. Although he threw three interceptions on the day only one of them had a real impact on the contest, as the other two came long after the Vikings had amassed a sizable lead. The athleticism and scrambling ability of Jackson gave the offense a new advantage, areas where Favre usually found himself in trouble when defenders were near him. The Buffalo Bill's record aside, Jackson showed that he could be more than serviceable in the event the teams 41-year-old quarterback is in the locker room or on the sideline. Receiver Sidney Rice had his first big game of the season, catching five passes for 105 yards and scoring twice. It's ironic Rice broke out with Jackson at quarterback, since Rice was Favre's favorite target most of last season. Running back Adrian Peterson started the game amid injury concerns and enjoyed one of his trademark performances, carrying the ball 16 times for 107 yards and three touchdowns. The ankle he hurt last week seemed to have no effect on Peterson, who ran around, ran past and ran through Buffalo defenders all game long. Even Peterson's backup Toby Gerhart had a nice day against the worst rush defense in the league, getting 54 yards of his own. The Bills defense looked completely helpless against the Vikings, even with the much-maligned Jackson at quarterback. Tarvaris' performance had to have given the coaching staff going into another week of "will he play?" Brett Favre hoopla.

Buffalo's offense appeared equally as outmatched as it's defensive counterpart, and it could manage not a single point against a Vikings defense that was feeling even better about itself after a strong showing against the Redskins. Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had played quite well in the two games before this one, was held under 200 yards and picked off once. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen had a sack for the fifth game in the row, and the rest of the defensive line made sure Fitzpatrick could not get comfortable in the pocket. The running game for the Bills had a little more success, with Fred Jackson rushing for 42 yards and rookie C.J. Spiller racking up 35 yards on only 7 carries. The passing and running game were not the biggest issues for the Bills- the fumbles were what kept them from having any chance against the Vikings. The Bills lost the ball four times on the day, and Fitzpatrick accounted for two of those. The Vikings, a team close to the bottom of the league in the turnover department, had a rare eye for the ball Sunday afternoon and it gave them everything thing they needed to win and bring their record to 5-7.

The New York Giants come to the Metrodome this week, a rematch of a game last year the Vikings won, 44-7. While the starter at quarterback for the Vikings is still unknown, the Vikings should have little less anxiety if their grey-bearded leader is unable to suit up.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

MIN-WAS Recap

Sunday was interim head coach Leslie Frazier's debut, and the Minnesota Vikings did their best to bring their new leader a win in his first game against the Washington Redskins. It was a rough, sloppy game with injuries and miscues a plenty, including a 77-yard punt return by Brandon Banks of the Redskins returned for a touchdown that was eventually called back because of a penalty. The Vikings made fewer mistakes, however, and left Washington D.C. with a 17-13 victory for the new coach.

The difference in post-Childress play-calling was quite a noticeable one. Darrell Bevell finally had his opportunity to call the shots on offense, as previous head coach Brad Childress decided which plays to run even though Bevell was the offensive coordinator. The Vikings experimented with play action and bootlegs Sunday, and even used receiver Percy Harvin in the backfield on some occasions. Quarterback Brett Favre had an efficient day, although he struggled to get the ball to his receivers a few times. Sidney Rice was targeted four times on the day but only caught one ball for 20 yards. Despite his somewhat sporadic passing production, Favre all but sealed the victory himself in the fourth quarter. Faced with a 3rd and 8, Favre his used his legs on a bootleg call to run for the first down. Running back Adrian Peterson was running wild on the Redskins before an ankle injury in the second quarter sidelined him for the rest of the afternoon. Backup Toby Gerhart assuaged the fears of Vikings and fantasy football fans alike, producing 76 yards and a touchdown of his own while the team's superstar was out of the game. Gerhart's longest run was only 6 yards, but he chipped away at the Redskins defense all game long and managed a respectable 3.5 yards-per-carry. Despite only putting up 299 yards, the Vikings offense looked vastly improved compared to previous games this season. Most importantly, Toby Gerhart proved to an extent that he could carry the load for the team when it's franchise player happens to be out of commission.

Washington quarterback Donavan McNabb, who usually finds success against the Vikings defense, was the unfortunate victim of dropped passes and an inferior offensive line Sunday afternoon. The Vikings pass rush was in his hair from the first snap and sacked the former Philadelphia Eagle four times. Jared Allen had one of those sacks and three tackles for loss, continuing his streak of recent remarkable play since only compiling one sack in the first seven games. Under normal circumstances McNabb should have been able to tear apart the Vikings defense as he has in the past, but the pressure remained on him for the duration of the game. The coverage had some of it's normal troubles in the middle of the field, but for the most part the pass rush was able to cover up most of the problems. Redskins tight end Chris Cooley found some holes in the middle of the field but was still held under 50 yards. McNabb only completed one pass over 20 yards on the afternoon, a 45-yard bomb to receiver Anthony Armstrong. Meanwhile, the running game for the Redskins was non-exist, totaling 29 yards between four different rushers. Part of this may have been due to McNabb and the Redskins' expectation that they would be able to throw at will on the Vikings, but even the home team themselves would not let this happen. Redskin receivers dropped several of McNabb's passes, including a third quarter throw that traveled from the gloves of Santana Moss into linebacker E.J. Henderson's possession for McNabb's only interception of the day. Regardless of the mistakes by the receivers, the Vikings came into the game knowing the Redskins were going to focus on passing the ball, and for one of the few times this season the pass rush and the defense in general was a strength rather than a liability.

Even after his only game of the season Leslie Frazier appears to be a figure the Vikings will rally around. Whether or not some of the Vikings quit on Childress will never be known, but this coaching change seems to have effected the team for the positive and if this win turns into two, three or even four wins, Frazier may be looked at as a serious candidate for the official head coach position. Before that talk begins, the Vikings must first beat the Buffalo Bills this Sunday, a club that has won the last two times these times have met.