Quick Thoughts on Victory

Some quick thoughts on the Vikings win on Sunday (which I'll hopefully have more time to flesh out later this week).

• Chester Taylor was a great signing, and he is a great back. He runs hard, he has break away speed and he can both block and catch passes. I am a little worried about his wearing down, since he's on pace to set a franchise record for carries, and I think that may be why he's having a little trouble holding on to the ball in the fourth quarter. That being said, there's no way that was a fumble on Sunday. Bad call by the refs.
• Speaking of which, those refs were pretty bad. It wasn't just the bad call on the fumble. They were constantly huddling and threw a bunch of flags that they then took back. A lack of confidence in a call is a sign of a ref that isn't sure he knows what he's doing, as I found out when I had to officiate my first flag football game. Unsure refs in flag football is one thing, though, unsure refs in the NFL is another.
• Is it just me, or is Brad Johnson more willing to look down field (down field for him meaning six or more yards from the line of scrimmage) when Marcus Robinson is playing? I don't think it's a coincidence that the Vikings' offense looks more competent when Robinson is in there--Brad's more willing to take "risks" when he has confidence in who he's throwing the ball to.
  
• My friend, a former high school QB pointed this out to me--Brad Johnson looks like he's straight out of a movie when he's in the pocket. The man rarely gets set in the pocket, which is a huge reason why none of his throws have any zip on them.
• There isn't a whole lot to say about the Vikings' run defense, except that it is exceptional. And the ridiculous thing is that the Vikings are doing it without their first round pick, Chad Greenway. A lot of that is because of Napolean Harris, who is playing his position better this year than Randy Moss is playing his.
• Cedric Griffin is going to be a solid cornerback for a long time. He went one on one with both of the Cardinals' stud receivers on the final drive, and prevented them from catching either pass--one where he got his arm on the ball, forcing Fitzgerald to concentrate on catching the ball, rather than trying to land in bounds, which Fitzgerald failed to do, and the other where he knocked away a pass to Boldin.
• The Vikings had one sack on Sunday. Matt Leinart dropped back to pass 52 times. I think we've just found the problem with the Vikings' pass defense. The Vikings to do list for the offseason better include a defensive end that can actually get to the quarterback, otherwise they're going to be more Brady/Farve/Leinart style performances again next year.