Friday Roundup

Thursday's Game
Last night's game between the Redskins and Bears could not have gone any better for the Purple. Chicago's loss dropped them to 5-8 and 2-7 in the conference, all but officially eliminating them from the playoff chase. The Redskins improved to 6-7 and 4-5 in the NFC, but the Vikings will have the opportunity to beat them at the Metrodome, which will be an easier task now that their starting quarterback, Jason Campbell, is likely done for the year with a dislocated knee cap. That means they'll be forced to rely on Todd Collins, who, prior to last night, hadn't seen the field since 2004, or Mark Brunell, who makes Brad Johnson look like a spry, young gunslinger.

Rex Grossman was also hurt, but Chicago has not yet released the severity of his leg injury. To be honest, I'm not sure whether Grossman missing next Sunday's game would help or hurt the Vikings.

The Revolution--Better Than the Big Names
Don't look now, but the Tarvaris Revolution has a better quarterback rating (and DPAR and DVOA) than Vince Young, Alex Smith, Kellen Clemens, Rex Grossman and David Carr. Both Young and Clemens were picked ahead of Tarvaris in the 2006 draft, Grossman lead Chicago to the Super Bowl last year and Smith and Carr were both taken first overall. And I know I wasn't the only one who argued that the Vikings should have acquired Carr to be their starter this year. Shows how much I know.

The Pace the Purple Jesus Needs
In order to break Eric Dickerson's rookie record of 1,808 rushing yards, the Purple Jesus would need to average 153 rushing yards over the last four games of the season. It's a daunting task, but it's in now way outside the realm of possibility, especially considering the Vikings are facing the teams who are ranked 27th (49ers-124 YPG) , 26th (Bears-123.2 YPG), 8th (Redskins-94.8 YPG) and 31st (Broncos-149.1 YPG) in rushing yards per game

Sunday's Pick
Sunday's game against the 49ers is, quite simply, a game the Vikings should win. There are no excuses at all. This isn't a trap game, since the Vikings shouldn't be looking past a team that embarrassed them last year, a loss that probably kept them out of the playoffs. The 49ers are an awful team, on offense and on defense. They're quarterbacked by Trent Dilfer. Their only real threat is running back Frank Gore, and he's only broken 100 yards rushing in a game once, and he needed overtime to do so. Seriously folks--the next time I worry about this team's ability to shut down the run when facing a mediocre to bad quarterback will be the first. The Vikings are the superior team in all aspects of the game and one that's riding a tidal wave of momentum. That's why I'm picking the Vikings in a blowout, 30-10.