New Places to Check Out

The Twins’ loss yesterday sapped my will to spend to spend time thinking about the Vikings’ last night, so I don’t have my quarter season grades ready yet. Tonight should be different, however, since I won’t be waiting until I get home from work to watch the Twins’ game, meaning I’ll have a little more time to get over a loss.

Anyway, as you may have noticed, I’ve updated my links section, adding Pacifist Viking’s blog, twins15’s Complete Sports and the Vikings Army message board. I suggest you check them out. Pacifist and twins15 are frequent commentators here, and both of their sites are worth a look. Pacifist’s is extremely well written, as you’d expect from an English professor who spends his officer hours blogging about the Purple (and, as a recent college graduate who never went to office hours, I’m not at all surprised he has the time). Complete Sports covers a host of sports (hence the name), but still has some good NFL and Vikings’ related posts (as well as stuff on other sports if you're interested). Finally, if you’re looking for a place to talk Purple 24-7, the Vikings Army board is a good spot, after its members left the awful ESPN boards and started it.

Make sure you check them out, and then come back tomorrow for the Vikings’ quarter season grades.

A Look Around the League

We’re basically a quarter of the way through the season, so it’s time to step back and evaluate what’s happened so far. I’m going to do it in two parts: a look at the NFL today, and a look at the Vikings’ tomorrow. So what have we learned so far about the Vikings’ competition for a playoff berth?

1) Da Bears are really good. While Shaun Alexander didn’t play for the Seahawks (he won’t be back until Oct. 22- take a wild guess who they’re playing), da Bears defense wasn’t the major surprise of the game. We already knew their defense was good, so shutting down an Alexander-less offense is par for the course. What was surprising was da Bears’ offensive performance. They looked like they were playing the Lions or Packers. I’m not yet ready to anoint them the favorites (the Eagles have looked good as well) in the NFC, especially since every game Grossman starts through the rest of the season will set a new season best for him. And they’re having problems running the ball, which serves to emphasize how important Grossman is to them. Without him, they’re just the same team as last year.

2) There are two reasons I’m still optimistic the Vikings can make the playoffs. The first is their schedule. Their ten remaining opponents are a combined 19-21 so far, and they get to play the 1-3 Packers and 0-4 Lions twice. The second is that their competition mainly consists of teams from the NFC South and NFC East, two of whom they own the tiebreaker over. The only possible wild card team from the NFC West, the Rams, has to come to the Metrodome the last week of the season. So even after the horrendous loss to the Bills, the Vikings are still in the driver’s seat. And that’s why their schedule will be the MVP of the season if they make the playoffs.

3) The Vikings’ caught the Redskins and Panthers at the right times. Both have reeled off two straight wins, and both are looking like playoff quality teams. The ‘Skins offense put up 36 points on the Jaguars defense, while the Panthers beat a tough New Orleans team. If either team had played that well against the Vikings, they would have easily come away with the win. Luckily for the Vikes and their playoff hopes, they didn't.

4) The Brett Farve Interception Watch continues. He threw two last night, putting his season total at 5. He’s currently on pace to throw 20 for the season, which would leave him two short of tying Blanda’s record of 277. He can definitely still do it, but he can’t afford to have any more games without an interception. I have faith though. (Also, can someone please explain to the media that Brett Farve holds the record for most consecutive starts for a QUARTERBACK, not the record for most consecutive starts overall? That would be Jim Marshall’s record. It’s like people continually bringing up the third baseman with the most consecutive starts and never mentioning Cal Ripken Jr. )

My Kingdom For An Offense

When I sat down at the bar to watch the Vikings game, I had high hopes. A win against the Bills would put the Vikings in the drivers’ seat for the playoffs, likely only needing to go 7-5 against an easy schedule to get in. And their prospects for victory looked good, considering the Bills were a worse version of the three teams the Vikings had already played.

Then the game happened, and, well, it was ugly. U-G-L-Y. The offense was atrocious. There were penalties, bad throws, no holes to speak of for the running backs, worse throws, and a nine yard punt. Nine F*&%*@# Yards.

And unlike the past three games, the defense wasn’t playing well enough to make up for it. Now, I’m not saying that it’s the defenses’ fault. They even came up with a huge stop to get the Vikings’ the ball back with enough time to have a shot at a game winning drive. But when J.P. Losman looks like Jim Kelly, you aren’t on you’re “A” game. And when you’re tired and off your game, bad things tend to happen. Like Losman channeling Steve Young and scrambling for 15 yards. And, of course, the “tackling” on Peerless Price’s touchdown. See what I mean? When you’re on the field all game and not playing well, it can only lead to bad things. Bad, bad things. And when they happened it was over for the Vikings. They needed their defense to step up if they were going to win, because their offense sure as hell wasn’t going to do it.

Now, I may have missed something, but it seemed like every single player on the Viking’s offense played poorly today. I’m actually having trouble writing this post because I have no clue where to start. Should I start with the abysmal run blocking? Chester Taylor’s inability to make someone miss (and make no mistake about it, he had lots of chances to break tackles in the backfield). Or maybe I should discuss the receivers’ inability to get open. Or haul in a pass when they did.

Luckily for this post, however, there is a pretty obvious choice in the “who played the worst” contest. And that would be Brad Johnson. Remember when I thought the Vikings should give him more money? Well, I’m an idiot. If I were to choose two words to describe him, they would be “old” and “bad”. Or maybe “washed up”. Or “why did Tarvaris get hurt, I want him to be the starter now because Brad Radke and his torn labrum and fractured shoulder can throw the ball harder than Brad Johnson and could probably make better decisions too”. Ok, I know, that’s not two words, but I think it probably describes the situation best. I want to start a quarterback controversy, but I will give up watching the Vikings before I call for Brooks Bollinger to start. I may be an idiot, but what I am not sir, is an idiot. Then again, we did just sign Drew Henson. I hear he’s pretty talented…

The Vikings in the Red

Once again, the Vikings’ offense is matched up against a top notch defense. The Bills D has a secondary full of studs, Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher at linebacker, and a defense line that has done a solid job stopping the run and getting to the passer. And so, once again, the Vikings are going to have problems putting points on the board.

Luckily for them, the defense should be able to help by creating turnovers. While Willis McGahee is a stud, and isn’t known for fumbling, the Bills have the erratic J.P. Losman under center. The secondary, full of veteran ball hawks, should be able to pick up where they left off against da Bears and create some turnovers.

Unless they house those turnovers, though, it’s going to fall on the offense to turn them into points. And by points, I mean touchdowns, not field goals. At this point in the season, the Vikings’ offense has been mediocre in the red zone, only scoring two touchdowns in nine trips to the red zone. Thankfully, they have a great kicker in Ryan Longwell, but if this team is going to achieve its goals, they're going to have to start scoring seven points in the red zone instead of three.

So why does the offense stall once it gets past the opponents twenty? Is it poor play calling? Poor execution? Penalties? Or is it some combination of the three?

Against Carolina, the Vikings problems were a result of poor line play. Against Carolina, the Vikings had three drives stalled by a holding penalty on Artus Hicks, an intentional grounding penalty on Brad Johnson and a sack. On the fourth drive, the Panthers stopped three straight rushing attempts on the goal line.

Against da Bears, the Vikings only got within the red zone twice. Both times, they failed to gain yards on first down. The first time, they took a shot at the end zone that Travis Taylor was unable to haul in, and the second time, Chester Taylor was stuffed for no gain. Their failure to gain yards on first down helped lead to third and longs that they were unable to convert, leading to more field goals.

Aside from Carolina’s goal line stand, every time the Vikings failed to score in the red zone, they managed to get themselves in obvious passing situations on third down. The problem is that the Vikings aren’t really equipped to convert in these situations. They don’t really have the playmakers necessary at wide receiver or at quarterback to gain a lot of yards against good defenses that know the Vikings are going to pass.

In order to be successful in the red zone, the Vikings have to stay out of third and long situations, because they are rarely going to be able to convert them with the players they have. And when they do end up facing third and 8, they need to try something besides relying on Brad Johnson and their receivers. The most success they had was on third and 15 against Carolina, when they went handed it off to Mewelde Moore and he gained eleven yards. They need to learn from this and be willing to use screens and draws to make up for their deficiencies in the passing game, especially in the red zone. Otherwise, they are going to continue to fail miserably at scoring touchdowns.

So what does this mean for the Vikings this Sunday? Well, it depends on if Brad Childress figured this out as well. The Bills are a similar team as the Vikings’ last three opponents—good at defense and average on offense. And while the game is on the road, the Vikings match up well against the Bills rushing game. So it’s going to come down to whether or not the Vikings’ offense can score. As usual, I’m going to be optimistic, and guess that Childress has made the necessary adjustments to his red zone offense. That’s why I’m picking the Vikings’ to win, 20-13, with the offense scoring one TD and the defense adding another.

Dear Drew

Dear Drew,
Can I call you Drew? Thanks. I just thought I'd welcome you to the Vikings. We're glad to have you. I know your signing wasn't the biggest story of the day, though I have to say I'm glad that T.O. only kinda sorta not really tried to commit suicide and that he's ok. I really don't know what I'd do without some T.O. in my life. I'm sure you feel the same way.

Anyway, I know that you haven't had the most successful professional athletic career, but I'm still excited to have you on the squad. I like Darren Sharper, but it's because of his safety skills, not because of his quarterbacking ability. And I know you aren't actually on the active roster yet, but I'm sure you'll be a hit in practice, and with Tarvaris recovering, well, it'd be nice if you realized some of that promise.

I'll let you go, since I'm sure you have to go spend some time studying the playbook. I suggest you pay particular attention to the plays designed for the red zone. Maybe you'll be able to see something that the Brads don't. A fresh perspective might just be what the offense needs to figure out what they need to do to score touchdowns instead of field goals.

Anyway, good luck and Skol Vikings!

Sincerely,
TBird

A Tricky Situation

Personally, I thought Brad Johnson’s contract was a non issue. Something writer’s had drummed up during training camp and had gone away. I guess not. To be honest, I’m not sure what the Vikings should do here. Brad Johnson is not the starting quarterback of the future. He might not even be the starting quarterback next year. And if that’s the case, I think the Vikings should save their money.

And I thought that was the case, prior to the announcement on Friday that Tarvaris Jackson was going to miss a month of the season undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee. I figured Tarvaris was on Daunte’s career path, only without all the fumbled snaps. That all changed with the injury—that month of practice was important for Tarvaris’ development. How much, we won’t know for awhile, but knee surgery for a mobile quarterback trying to make the jump from 1-AA could be the kind of setback where the Vikings’ don’t feel comfortable with him under center next year.

All of which brings us back to Brad Johnson and his contract extension. If this is his last year starting for the Vikings, then upgrading his contract is probably a mistake. If they need him for next year too, then they should invest the money and make sure he’s happy. If he’s going to back up Tarvaris next year, then it isn’t worth it. It’s the kind of decision you can’t make without knowing how quickly Tarvaris rebounds from the surgery, but one that likely can’t wait that long.

And that’s why, as much as it pains me, I think the Vikings should make sure they take care of BJ. My guess is they’ll need him under center next year because of Tarvaris’ setback. They might end up moving him back to the second string next year, but, provided he doesn’t require a massive contract upgrade to be happy, I think the Vikings’ should make sure he is.

[I would also like to say that wins for quarterbacks are even more meaningless than they are for starting pitchers in baseball. If the Vikings had won on Sunday, Brad Johnson would have had about as much to do with it as I did. You’d think that Trent Dilfer’s Super Bowl ring would have put that stat to rest, but I guess some people are still clinging to it. Yes, there is a difference between a quarterback that loses games and the Dilfers/Johnsons of the world. Not losing the game does not, however, mean that the quarterback had ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE WIN. So let’s stop pretending it matters that Brad Johnson is 9-3 with the Vikings, because it doesn’t.]

Wasted Opportunity

This was a game the Vikings should have won. Instead, poor play calling and an awful turnover gave da Bears the win. The way the Vikings' finished their last two "drives" on offense wasted a great performance by the defense and handed Brad Childress is his first loss.

First off, why did the Vikings' throw the ball on 2nd and 8 the play before Chester Taylor fumbled? Secondly, why did they throw the ball on 4th and 2 on their last drive (I'm not even going to ask why they threw a deep pass. I'm not sure I could deal with the answer right now). Did they forget that they're a running team? Did they forget that Brad Johnson is their quarterback? Hmmm?

This Vikings' team can be successful this year. They have a shot at the division, and should make the playoffs. If they're going to do that, however, they have to remember that BRAD JOHNSON IS THEIR QUARTERBACK. He's old and has a weak arm. He's a fine quarterback, if you want a game manager, which is all the Vikings are looking for right now. He is not going to win you games by himself. He is not going to make astounding plays. He's not even going to make good plays that often. He's 39 years old for Ragnar's sake. Don't ask him to throw the ball when your offense needs to kill clock. And for the love of all that is holy in this world, DO NOT ask him to complete a long pass on 4th and 2, at the end of the game, down by 3 points

So help me, I'm going to break a whole lot of things if something like that ever happens again.