That Looked Good

All in all, a solid preseason effort. The Vikings improved to 3-0 (right, it doesn't matter, but I remember the 1998 Vikings going 4-0 in the preseason, so I'm going to pretend it's a good sign), the starters scored 17 points in a half, a vintage Purple Jesus run out of the gates (and to the right side!) and the defense looked pretty solid against what is likely to be one of the best offenses in the NFL. A few more thoughts:

• The Vikings have racked up 36 penalties for 251 yards so far in the preseason. Now, obviously not all of those were from the starters, but considering they were called for 8 penalties for 60 yards in the first half (one of which was an offsetting unnecessary roughness penalty on Ray Edwards) it's not a good sign. Then again, the Vikings were only 17th overall in penalty yards and 16th in penalties, so it might not be that big of a deal.

• Am I excited about having a competent right tackle? You bet. Purple Jesus probably doesn't go 75 yards to start the game with Ryan Cook there. With Phil Loadholt opening up the cutback lane? 75 yards to the House. (Though, it probably doesn't hurt that Peterson hit 23 miles per hour to leave the Texans in his dust. And yes, that's a ridiculous speed, especially when you consider he didn't even look like he was trying.)

• I wasn't particularly impressed by the Wildcat plays. Now, I understand the Vikings aren't going to debut the entire package in the 3rd preseason game, but is it really necessary to line up Harvin in the shotgun so he can either hand the ball off to Peterson for a relatively nondescript 5 yard gain or fake the hand off and run off tackle where his 40 year old quarterback is going to fling himself (sometimes illegally!) into defenders and get hurt?
  

• On QB#4's block: In theory, I like the fact that he's willing to block for his teammates (IN THEORY--Communism works IN THEORY). In reality, however, I don't like the fact that our brittle, about to be 40 year old quarterback is throwing himself into defenders, especially considering that he was telling the press about his self diagnosed cracked ribs earlier today. And I especially don't like the fact that he's flinging himself into defenders knees. And no, QB#4, it's not ok because ""... [you]'ll be 40 years old in October and was weeding 13 days ago." Please never, ever, ever use the fact that you skipped training camp as an excuse again. That was your decision.

• The Purple ran a lot of screens last night. I like the idea of Adrian Peterson in space with lead blockers, and Chester Taylor has clearly shown that he can make things happen after he catches a pass (Something, I think, Eugene Wilson can attest to). I also like the fact that Childress is showing the screens in the preseason. If the Purple can establish themselves as a team that runs the screen well, it's going to really help QB#4 and the offensive line out, by forcing opponents' pass rush to slow down in order to account for the screen.
  

• And, I hate to admit it, but QB#4 played well yesterday, aside from the illegal crack back and taking a bad sack on 3rd and 2. The Texans defense isn't the Steelers' (or Ravens' or Vikings'), but it was good to know that the fact he skipped training camp hasn't held him back that much. He averaged 6.5 yards per attempt without Bernard Berrian (and including the fact that Percy Harvin should have caught Favre's throw in the corner of the end zone). That's a full half yard more than the Vikings' 5.97 yards per pass attempt last year and would have placed the Vikings 12th in the NFL instead of 18th. It was just one game, but I think we all know that the thing keeping the Vikings from being a legitimate Super Bowl contender has been their passing game. I'm not going to get excited just yet (and remember, QB#4 doesn't do the Vikings' any good if he collapses in the final weeks of the season), but it's a good sign.
  

Killing Time: The One, True Purple Jesus

The Purple Jesus

Adrian Peterson rushing yards this season alone would crack the top twenty for career rushing yards by a Viking. If he didn’t get a yard against the Giants, this would be the 38^th most rushing yards in an NFL season and if he gets 117 yards, he’ll crack the top twenty. And if he gets 1 43 yards, he’ll become the 15^th running back in the history of the NFL to rush for 1800 yards in a season. He’s currently 9^th among Vikings in career rushing yards and he has an outside chance of passing Michael Bennett for 8^th all time this season (he needs 177 yards to do so). He only needs two more yards to crack 3000 yards for his career and he’s rushed for more yards in his first two years than nine of the running backs in the top ten in rushing yards (only Eric Dickerson had more yards his first two years than Peterson). This is his second season. Think about that. If there’s a player that has earned the “Purple Jesus” nickname, it’s Adrian Peterson. What he has done just defies my ability to describe.

There are two things, however, that Vikings’ fans should be concerned about when it comes to AD. The first was demonstrated very clearly on Sunday—he’s fumble prone. As the Pro Football Reference blog points out, that’s likely a result of his ability to gain yards no other back can (and goes on to look at what an optimal turnover rate might be). Also, Peterson apparently took my advice and carried a football around all week like Omar Epps did in the Program.

The second issue that Vikings fans should be worried about is his work load. He only needs 28 carries to reach 370 for the year, and as Smarter Stats shows, that’s a work load that almost no running back can handle without breaking down (or having their performance fall off markedly). Peterson has carried the ball more than 28 times in four games this year (IND, GNB, CHI, @ ARI). Giving him the ball 29 times against the Colts and 30 times against the Packers makes sense to me. Both games were decided by a field goal. Giving him the ball 28 times against Chicago, including five times after the Vikings went up 31-14 with eight minutes left, does not. Nor does giving him 28 carries, including 13 in the second half, in the blowout of the Cardinals. And even if he doesn’t get to 370 carries this year, he’ll have still carried the ball a tremendous amount, and absorbed the punishment that comes with running the ball 360 times. It’s something Childress needs to keep in mind against the Giants and next year (if he's still around next year). There is no greater sin that Childress could commit that would be worse than ruining Adrian Peterson’s career by over working him.

T.J. and Tarvaris

Tarvaris Jackson’s one year old son, Tarvaris, Jr. (If you had an awesome first name like Tarvaris, you’d pass your name along too) has been battling health issues all season. This is the first I’ve heard of it, and it makes Tarvaris’s transformation from benched quarterback to clear starter (and there is no doubt in my mind that he should be starting this game over a healthy Gus Frerotte) all the more remarkable. Best wishes to his son, and hopefully he can bring home a division crown for him.

This game is going to be the first time that Tarvaris Jackson faces an elite pass rush (the Giants are 5^th in adjusted sack rate) since returning from the bench. If the Vikings are smart, they’ll try and get the ball to Chester Taylor in the passing game. The Giants’ pass defense has the worst DVOA in the NFL against running backs. The reason I say Taylor and not Peterson is because Taylor’s one of the best receiving running backs in the NFL and Peterson is one of the worst. Taylor’s 11^th in the NFL amongst backs in DYAR and 12^th in DVOA and he’s caught 81% of the 54 passes thrown his way. Peterson is 51^st in DYAR and 50^th in DVOA and he’s only caught 54% of the 39 passes thrown his way. (Adjusted Sack Rate, DYAR and DVOA courtesy of Football Outsiders)

1000 yards

Bernard Berrian needs 117 receiving yards to become the tenth Viking with 1000 receiving yards in a season and the first since Nate Burleson in 2004. It’s probably a long shot though—he’s only had that many receiving yards in a game twice in his career, although both games were this year (against Detroit and against Chicago). He only needs 69 yards to surpass his previous season high of 951 yards, which he set last year. That’s a lot more likely, as he’s had seven games this year where he had at least 69 yards, although all of them came with Frerotte at quarterback.

Purple Pass Catching Tight Ends

After gaining 136 receiving yards against the Falcons, Visanthe Shaincoe cracked the top ten all time for receiving yards by a Vikings’ tight end. The top ten is below (courtesy of Pro Football Reference). Two things stick out—the first is Joe Senser’s remarkable 1981 season. I’ll be honest—while I know of him because of his restaurant, I didn’t know he was that good of a player. It’s too bad that he suffered a career ending knee injury in 1982. Of course, his retirement led to the second most striking part of the list; the dominance and consistency of Senser’s replacement, Steve Jordan. When you have half the spots in the top ten (and 60% of the spots in the top 5) you’re clearly the best player to ever play the position in Purple. And in case you were wondering, the tight end who was 10th before Shaincoe's big game? Steve Jordan.

1. Joe Senser, 1981--1004 yards
2. Steve Jordan, 1986—859 yards
3. Steve Jordan, 1985—795 yards
4. Steve Jordan, 1988—756 yards
5. Jermaine Wiggins, 2004—705 yards
6. Byron Chamberlain, 2001—666 yards
7. Steve Jordan, 1991—638 yards
8. Steve Jordan, 1990—636 yards
9. Visanthe Shaincoe, 2008—582 yards
10. Jermain Wiggins, 2005—568 yards

The Giants Schedule

The Giants have a chance to set a record for Quality Wins (wins over teams with a winning record) in the regular season (and then in the playoffs) if things break their way on Sunday. Do not underestimate the Giants—this is a talented team that has played and beaten some very good teams. Even with some of their starters resting, they have the ability to beat the Vikings.

Go Lions

The only thing that could possibly make me feel better tomorrow if the Vikings lose and da Bears win is if the Packers lose to the Lions. That would be a black mark on their franchise that no other franchise could match—a loss to a 0-15 team, the worst team ever. Schadenfreude is a beautiful thing. It is a beautiful thing.

Playoff Scenarios

Joe Posnanski explains the various playoff scenarios. Yes, I could have found a better, more concise article on this subject to link to, but I’m going to take every opportunity I have to link to the best sports writer in America (and thus possibly spread the joy of reading him). Read him and thank me later.

Domination and Hope

For the first time this year, I actually think the Vikings have a chance to make a run in the playoffs. Yesterday’s win was that good. That was a playoff team, that was undefeated in its own stadium, and the Vikings just ran them off their own field. They couldn’t pass, they couldn’t run and they couldn’t stop Adrian Peterson OR Tarvaris Jackson. And if the Vikings can duplicate that effort in the playoffs, they can beat any team in the NFC.

As usual, everything started with the defense. Coming into the game, the Cardinals were 4th in DVOA when passing, were 8^th in adjusted sack rate, Kurt Warner was 2^nd among quarterbacks in DYAR and Larry Fitzgerald (2nd in WR DYAR), Anquan Boldin (4th in DYAR) and Steve Breaston (13th in DYAR) were all in the top 15 among wide receivers. The Cardinals have a very, very good passing attack. Kurt Warner was averaging 7.26 yards per passing attempt, but on Sunday, the Vikings held him to 5.1 yards per attempt, despite the fact that the Cardinals called almost 50 pass plays before they brought in Matt Lienart. And it wasn’t just one facet of the pass defense that dominated. The defensive line was all over Warner, sacking him four times and hitting him countless times. Equally important, however, was the coverage and the tackling by the defensive backs and linebackers. The Cardinals were second in the NFL in yards after the catch, but on Sunday, the Vikings were bringing the Cardinals down as soon as they caught the ball (except, of course, for Jermaine Urban's touchdown). It was a team effort too, with Ben Leber, Bennie Sapp, Chad Greenway and Antoine Winfield all having at least 5 tackles. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Cedric Griffin’s ridiculous, one handed interception that killed the Cardinals second drive and set up Tarvaris Jackson’s deep touchdown to Bernard Berrian.

And speaking of Tarvaris Jackson, that was the quarterback the Vikings were hoping to see Tarvaris Jackson become this year. He was accurate, poised and threw a good deep ball. His pass to Berrian was perfect. And I mean perfect—he hit him in stride, fitting the ball in the one spot that it had to be to be caught (Berrian, while single covered, was covered pretty well). I know that the Cardinals don’t have the best pass defense in the league (19^th in DVOA against the pass and 28^th in opposing passer rating), but we haven’t seen that Tarvaris Jackson before. He’s had no problem being indecisive and inaccurate against bad pass defenses before, but he wasn’t against the Cardinals. He was accurate, completing 65% of his passes, he threw deep, with touchdown passes of 41 and 59 yards, and he was comfortable in the red zone, throwing two other touchdowns, including a great throw to Sidney Rice. He averaged 7.8 yards per pass attempt and he provided the passing attack that the Vikings need to be Super Bowl contenders. And make no mistake about it—the Vikings can win the Super Bowl with this Tarvaris Jackson. I’m not saying they will, or that this is the real Tarvaris Jackson (though we’ll have a much better idea after the Vikings’ play the Falcons and Giants), but if Tarvaris plays like this in the playoffs, the Vikings are a legitimate contender for the Super Bowl. And it’s probably worth mentioning that they could still get a bye if they win out and the Panthers or Giants lose out.

Finally, congratulations are in order for the Purple Jesus, who set the Vikings’ single season rushing record with his first carry of the second half. His 165 yards on Sunday have him well on the way to the rushing title, especially considering that he’s 160 yards up on Michael Turner, with two games to play, and, unlike Turner, he doesn’t have to face the Williams Wall on Sunday. He’s going to win the rushing title, and he’s the main reason that a team that’s featured Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte at quarterback has a good enough offense to win their division, get the third seed in the playoffs (and maybe even a bye). If that’s not enough to win the MVP award, I don’t know what is.

Killing Time: More Reasons to Fire Childress and Other Thoughts

A few more thoughts on Childress and other things, now that the Vikings are a quarter of the way through their games:

• Under Brad Childress, the Vikings are 3-8 against playoff teams. What makes that record even worse than it appears is that all three of their wins required some kind of fluke. Matt Hasselbeck got hurt during their win against Seattle in 2006 and Chester Taylor set a franchise record with a 96 yard touchdown run. Their win over San Diego featured Adrian Peterson setting the NFL record for rushing in a game. And Eli Manning threw x picks, x of which were returned for touchdowns, in their win over the Giants last year. Against winning teams, the Purple are 4-9 under Brad Childress and 1-1 this year (and their two losses to the Colts and Packers will likely qualify at the end of the year). This isn't a case of the Vikings being inconsistent-this is a case of the Vikings being unable to beat a good team unless something crazy happens. That's not good enough for a team this talented or for a franchise that plans on winning a Super Bowl.

• Despite not rushing for 100 yards the last two games, Adrian Peterson is only two yards behind Michael Turner for the NFL rushing lead. Larry Johnson, who has 415 yards, is the only other running back with more than 400 yards. Peterson's been a lot more consistent, however, and has been successful against more than just the worst rush defenses. Michael Turner has amassed 324 of his 422 yards (76.7%) against Kansas City and Detroit, who are 27th and 32nd in rushing DVOA, and was held to 42 yards by Tampa Bay, who is 3rd in rushing DVOA and 56 yards by the Carolina Panthers, who are 19th in rushing DVOA. Peterson has faced the 29th (Packers), 25th (Colts), 19th (Panthers) and 6th (Titans), while rushing for 438 yards, but he has yet to be shut down in a game like Turner has been twice and his best two games only account for 62.6% of his yards. Larry Johnson has been erratic, like Turner, only rushing for 22 yards against the Raiders (21st in rushing DVOA) and 74 against the Patriots (26th) while racking up 319 of his 415 yards (76.8%) against Atlanta (15th) and Denver (10th).
  

• Chad Greenway is 5th in the NFL in tackles, with 34, only 7 behind Dhani Jones, who leads the league.

• Adrian Peterson needs to average 131.6 yards per game over the last 12 games in order to accomplish his goal of rushing for 2000 yards. If he kept up his average of 5.1 yards per carry, he would need 308 carries to get the 1580 yards he needs. That would also mean he had the fourth most carries this decade, behind Larry Johnson in 2006 (416 carries), Eddie George in 2000 (403) and Ricky Williams in 2003 (397). None of them made it to 1000 yards the next year.

Purple Jesus Lays The Wood

Do not get in Purple Jesus' way or you'll end up like this:




As Batgirl used to say--"Boom, BITCH".

The Purple Jesus' Chances at 2000

About a month ago, Adrian Peterson, the Purple Jesus himself, said that he wanted to rush for 2000 yards. My first reaction? He's not going to do it. And, after doing some research, I think my first reaction was the right one.

Now, I don't doubt that Peterson has the ability--I mean, after last year, could you really argue that he doesn't have the rushing talent of Barry Sanders, O.J. Simpson, Jamal Lewis , Eric Dickerson and Terrell Davis? I don't think you can do that. Even if you discount the fact that Peterson has had injury issues throughout his career (including missing the majority of three games last year), the odds are against him setting the record (it's only been done 5 times, remember), and even more so because of his teammate, Chester Taylor.

Last year, the Vikings ran the ball 494 times. Peterson lead the team with 238 carries, 81 more than Taylor's 157 attempts. Neither of those statistics bode well for Peterson's chances to crack the 2000 yard mark. Of the five backs to rush for 2000 yards, only O.J. Simpson and Barry Sanders did so with less than 350 carries (332 and 335 respectively). That means that Peterson's going to have to carry the ball at least 100 more times next year to have a shot at 2000 yards, and even more than that unless he increases his yards per carry average (at last seasons total of 5.6 YPC, he would have needed 357 carries to get to 2000 yards). That's a lot of carries nowadays, even for a team as reliant on the run as the Vikings are (to put that number into context, Clinton Portis lead the NFL in carries last year, with 325). And that's a lot of carries for a team with a second back as good as Taylor. And in order to get those carries, Peterson would have to get the ball on an even higher percent of the running plays than it looks like on the surface, because Tarvaris Jackson had 54 carries, meaning the Vikings really only called a running play about 450 times.

And make no mistake about it--if Peterson's going to get to 2000 yards, he's only going to do so by taking Taylor's carries. There have been 23 running backs to rush for at least 1750 yards. Only O.J. Simpson in 1975 (1817 yards) had a teammate that had more than 150 carries (Though, to be fair, in 1973, Simpson had a teammate with 98 carries and one with 148 carries, and he rushed for 2003 yards. That team also ran the ball 605 times, something I highly doubt the Vikings will do next season).

Aside from those two Bills teams that featured O.J. Simpson, only three other running backs rushed for 1750 yards and had a teammate with more than 100 carries, and all three had less than 1900 yards. (Eric Dickerson had 1821 yards in 1986, Larry Johnson had 1750 yards in 2005 and Walter Payton had 1852 yards in 1977).

So, unless Peterson adds more than 100 carries next year (mostly by taking Taylor's carries) and maintains his yards per carry average, he's not going to be able to reach 2000 yards next year. And that's probably for the best, since Peterson would likely feel the effects of all those carries the next year, and possibly the rest of his career. All five backs that cracked 1000 yards rushed for 500-1000 yards less the next year, and Terrell Davis never played more than 8 games in a season after he topped the 2000 yard mark.

2000 yards is a good goal for Peterson to have. It's not, however, a good goal for the team to have for him, unless they want to alienate Chester Taylor and shorten Peterson's career. I think the Vikings are smarter than that. I hope they are, at least.

Killing Time--Quickly

Working on a few things (both at work and for new posts), but here are few things that I've had turn up.

First, Adrian Peterson's going to be on the cover of ESPN the Magazine for their fantasy football issue. There's a video, if you're interested (thanks to Ben for the tip). Now let's all go get some rum, cigars and fried chicken and offer it to Jobu to keep any magazine cover curses from hurting the Purple Jesus (who, by the way, can probably hit a curve ball).

Secondly, Pro Football Talk is reporting that LaCharles Bentley may be coming to Minnesota to compete with Matt Birk for the starting center job. Personally, I'm with Gonzo of the Daily Norseman here--that makes little sense for the Vikings and it makes no sense for Bentley, unless the Purple promise him they'll cut Birk, something I just can't see happening, since his injury history makes him a big question mark. I assume Bentley would rather go to some team that he'd be able to win the starting job (and there's really no way he'd beat out Birk on the field).

Finally, Paul DePodesta, the assistant GM of the San Diego Padres (and whom you may remember from the book Moneyball) has his own blog and he has a very good post on the MLB draft that is applicable to almost all walks of life, including the NFL (which is why Football Outsiders linked to it). In it, he discusses the difference between Good/Bad Processes and Good/Bad Outcomes. I think the Vikings have been put together is, generally, a "Good Process", which means that they'll be able to be successful for more than just a year or two. Of course, in football, where luck can play a much larger factor than baseball, a "Good Process" doesn't guarantee a "Good Outcome"--hopefully, it'll be enough for one this year though.

Ladies and Gentleman...

Your 2008 NFL Pro Bowl M-V-P....

ADRIAN "PURPLE JESUS" PETERSON!!!!!!!

Ok, I'll be honest--I didn't watch the Pro Bowl last night. I don't know anyone who did. Personally, I was watching Washington upset UCLA. That being said, it's good to see Peterson look like his dominant self again. I know, I know, it was the Pro Bowl, and that most of the recaps referenced flag football in their descriptions, but still. Watch the highlights. Tell me you don't see the Adrian Peterson that dominated San Diego and Chicago.

The best part? The second rookie to win Pro Bowl MVP (Marshall Faulk was the first) is going to get better. Coach Childress has pinpointed the two areas that Peterson needs to improve in, and if Peterson can do so, well folks, he's going to be even better than he is now. And both Peterson's pass protection and how deals with 8 and 9 man fronts are areas he can improve on. The former kept our biggest threat off the field in passing plays, and Peterson's issues with the latter are why he averaged only 2.7 yards per carry in his last four games. It looked as if he was trying to break every run for a touchdown rather than hitting the hole quickly and trying to pick up as much yardage as possible and that hurt the Vikings, considering how important it was to to the offense to pick up 3-4 yards on first down.

I fully expect Peterson to improve in those two areas and become a complete back. Considering how well he played as a rookie, there's no reason not to.

Drumroll Please...

Ladies and Gentlemen...Your 2007 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year...

Adrian...THE PURPLE JESUS...PETEERRRRRRSSSOOOONNNNNNN!!!!

All Day received 46.5 out of a possible 50 votes, with Cleveland's Joe Thomas pulling in 3.5 votes. Gotta love those reporters that feel the need to be unique.

Mike Sellers Runs His Mouth

This is Mike Sellers. Mike Sellers is the fullback for the Washington Redskins. And he’s got a chip on his shoulder. You see, Sellers here, he got left off of the Pro Bowl roster because the fans, coaches and players thought chose Tony Richardson instead. Mike Sellers isn’t going to take that lying down though. Oh no, not Mike Sellers. Instead, he’s going to show the entire world why he should have been chosen for the Pro Bowl by helping the Redskins out rush the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s certainly an interesting idea, but how likely is it? I mean, the Vikings rush defense isn’t an ordinary rush defense. Nope. It’s got Kevin and Pat Williams, E.J. Henderson, Chad Greenway, Ben Leber and Keneci Udeze. It almost set the record for best rush defense EVER last year, and it’s been dominate once again, allowing only 2.97 yards per carry this season. Ryan Grant is the only back that has rushed for more than 100 yards against them and that game was the only game in which Vikings were out rushed this season. And I’d bet that the defense has a little extra motivation now that Sellers has started running his mouth.

And it’s not like the Redskins have a dominate rushing game either. The ‘Skins are averaging a paltry 3.81 yards per carry, which is only good for 23^rd in the league. While they had some success (4.4 YPC) against the Giants, who have a decent run defense (3.96 YPC allowed), the Giants are allowing almost a yard more per carry than the Vikings. And even after that game, neither Clinton Portis nor Ladell Betts is averaging 4 yards a carry, with Portis averaging 3.9 YPC and Betts averaging 3.7 YPC.

It doesn’t look good for Mr. Sellers, and we haven’t even gotten to the Vikings running game (or the Todd Collins run Redskins passing game, and its average of 6.1 yards per passing attempt). Aside from the three Pro Bowlers on the line, the Vikings’ have the Purple Jesus, who’s averaging an amazing 5.9 yards per carry. If he can up that average by a tenth of yard, he’ll be the fourth running back to average 6 yards per carry in the history of the NFL, joining O.J. Simpson, Jim Brown and Barry Sanders. He’s so good, he managed to gain ground in the race for the rushing title without even playing last night! And he, along with his partner, Chester Taylor (5.3 YPC), will be going up against a run defense that is allowing 3.92 yards per carry for the season. That’s right-the Redskins are allowing more yards per carry on defense than they are gaining on offense. And that’s before taking into consideration the fact that they lost their second leading tackler, LB Rocky McIntosh, to a horrible knee injury on Sunday, not to mention the tragic loss of their Pro Bowl strong safety (and honorary Viking), Sean Taylor.

Doesn’t look all that likely that Mr. Sellers will be able to achieve his goal, does it?

Purple Jesus on Sportscenter

I managed to record Adrian Peterson's interview on Sportscenter this morning and upload it to Youtube. I should have the game preview up in an hour or so. Here's the interview:

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.

Three Stars--Too Many To Choose From

One of the difficulties in picking three stars is the differing nature of offense and defense. It’s easier for offensive skill players to stand out than it is for a defender to do so. The Vikings defense dominated the Lions yesterday, but no defender really stuck out. Cedric Griffin and Marcus McCauley lead the teams with seven tackles, but, as corners, many of those tackles came after the receiver they were covering caught a pass. Three different Vikings linemen had sacks, but the constant pressure on Jon Kitna can’t be attributed to any one player’s effort—it was a joint effort by the linemen and the linebackers, same as the Vikings holding the Lions to 23 yards rushing. And Udeze’s interception was pretty much the only play he made today. Honestly, the MVP on defense will go to Pat Williams, Kevin Williams or E.J. Henderson, but I don’t know that a football layman can actually make that call.

It’s a lot easier to pick out the stars on offense, especially today. The Vikings offense scored on their first five offensive possessions. Aside from the Three Stars (who will become obvious shortly), numerous other Vikings turned in noteworthy performances.

• Bobby Wade and Sidney Rice continue to play well. Both made quality catches for touchdowns (Wade going to his knees to catch a low throw for his first TD of the year and Rice by hauling in a fade route over a defender). Wade had 4 catches for 54 yards, Rice had 5 catches for 53. Wade’s the Vikings’ leading receiver, while Rice is tied for first among rookie wide outs in touchdowns and is fourth in receptions and yards.

• Chester Taylor continues to provide starting running back performance as the back up. He gained 70 yards today, an average of 5 yards per carry over 14 carries. He also threw a touchdown pass that was dropped by a wide open Visanthe Shiancoe. (And while I understand where Childress was coming from when he called the two trick plays near the end of the game, but honestly, is it better to save them for when they might be needed, rather than use them in a blowout, allowing other teams to prepare for them? Does anyone really think Jeff Dugan is going to get very far running the ball if the other team is waiting for him?)

• The entire offensive line deserves to be praised for a dominating performance as well. They only gave up one sack, while creating the holes for Peterson and Taylor to run for an average of 5.5 YPC on 39 carries. Peterson has a lot to do with the Vikings’ dominance on the ground, but the line deserves a lot of credit for having the Purple rushing average about four inches less per carry than the best rushing team ever, the 1963 Cleveland Browns.

But enough about those who didn’t quite make the cut. Let’s talk about the Three Stars:

Third Star: Aundrae Allison

Aside from the passing game, one of the problems with the Vikings’ offense has been their lack of a return game (when Peterson wasn’t returning kicks). Troy Williamson was averaging a 23.8 yards a return, but didn’t have the ability to break one. Obviously, that’s not a problem with Aundrae Allison, who set a franchise record with a 103 yard kick return for a touchdown and who previously had a 60 yard return against Detroit and a 62 yard return against the Chargers. Allison’s averaging 37.1 yards per return and should be the starting kick returner from now on. He also caught two passes for 52 yards, one of which he turned a short pass into a 35 yard gain. Don’t look now, but it seems yet another rookie has decided to make a big impact for the Purple.

Second Star: Adrian Peterson

15 carries, 116 yards. That’s 7.73 YPC. You know what the ridiculous thing about that average is? It’s only his fourth best average for a game. Peterson’s 1197 rushing yards leads the NFL (Willie Parker’s still in second with 1097 yards) and his two rushing touchdowns brought his total to ten, second only to LaDainian Tomlinson. And the way he runs? Pure beauty. He worked Lions defender after Lions defender, whether it was with by running through, past or around them. Peterson’s carries are so amazing that I wish I understood the science and strategy of running with the ball, because I feel like only a true master would be able to properly appreciate everything he does.

First Star: Tarvaris Jackson

The Revolution is back and with it have come victories. Tarvaris had the best game of his career against the Lions, completing 18 of 24 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns and ran for twenty yards on five carries. It was only the second time Tarvaris has broken 200 yards passing in the twelve games he’s played in. He was only sacked once and, while he did throw an interception, it was the only poor decision he made all game, and it happened in garbage time. Tarvaris’ new found comfort in the pocket has been a joy to watch—he’s using his mobility and strength to avoid sacks and buy time for his receivers, he’s hitting his receivers accurately on both short and long passes and he’s avoided making rally killing mistakes. His pass to Sidney Rice on a slant to convert a 3rd and 6 the play before Peterson’s second touchdown was a thing of beauty. It had the velocity and the accuracy necessary to get between the two defenders blanketing Rice and allow him to hold onto the ball despite being interfered with. Tarvaris wasn’t completing passes like that before the Oakland game. And if he continues to throw like that, well, you try stopping an offense featuring the Purple Jesus and an effective Tarvaris Revolution.

Blitzing, Rushing Titles and RIP

Blitzing
One of the new wrinkles that Leslie Frazier has added to the defense is a blitz package to employ against easily confused and jittery quarterbacks. He first used it against Philip Rivers, who completed only 19 of 42 passes for 197 yards and an interception. He shelved it the next game, however, knowing that Brett Farve would likely pick apart the Vikings secondary. However, he's brought it out again against the Raiders and now the Giants and it's been very successful against two quarterbacks who don't make the best decisions. Against the Raiders, while Daunte was able to rack up 344 yards through the air, he was also sacked five times, fumbled twice and threw an interception. And we all saw how the blitzing worked against Eli Manning.

I fully expect the Vikings to continue blitzing for the rest of the season, since words like "easily confused", "jittery", "turnover machine" and "easily sackable" can be accurately used to describe Jon Kitna, Alex Smith/Trent Dilfer, Jay Cutler, Rex Grossman and Jason Campbell.

Rushing Titles
Want to know how good Adrian Peterson has been? He is 15th in rushing attempts, 12th in attempts per game and has sat out 2.5 games and still has 75 more rushing yards than Willie Parker, who leads the NFL in rushing attempts and in rushing attempts per game, yet is second in rushing yards with 1008.

RIP Sean Taylor
Whatever you want to say about Sean Taylor and his lifestyle choices, this was a young man with a young daughter who had his whole life before him. Not to mention the fact that he is an honorary Viking, a title he earned when he intercepted Brett Farve twice in October, interceptions that tied and broke George Blanda's career interception mark. His death is a tragedy, and the entire football world grieves for his family's loss.

The Purple Creed

I believe in AD, the Running Back almighty,

creator of new records.

and in the Purple Jesus, his other name, our star.

who was conceived by the power of Rob Brzezinski

drafted with the 7th Pick.

hurt his knee under Harris' Helmet,

was injured, sat out, and was buried.

He descended into rehab.

For the third game he rose again from the dead.

[More to come later today...and it won't be another ode to the Purple Jesus...I promise]

The Hallowed LCL and Negativity Despite the "W"

And in the Third Game...
The Purple Jesus' rehab assignment is going very well so far. He hasn't been ruled out for the Giants game yet (though he should be, as he should not play without practicing for a whole week), but he could be running on land by Wednesday. As of today, Peterson should be back by the game against da Bears in Week 15. That would give him three more games to add to the 1081 yards he's run for so far. His closest competitor for the NFL rushing title, Willie Parker, is still more than 100 yards behind him (Parker has 925 yards). He's still got a shot at the title if he's able to come back by the Lions or Niners game. If he's not back until Week 15, he'll need to have a few Purple Jesus type games to make a run at the crown

The Failure on Third Down
The Vikings went 1/7 on third down yesterday. They're now 1/15 over the last two games and are now 36/118 on third down. That's 30.5%. If you're looking for an indictment of the offensive play calling, that stat says it all. The Vikings aren't able to convert in third and long situations and aren't able to get into third and short plays. They either get a first down on first or second down, or they punt, a situation all the more confusing because the Purple have a strong running game and run an offense that focuses on short passes.

Getting Torched
The Vikings secondary looked awful against the Raiders. And when I say awful, I mean "gave up 344 passing yards to a quarterback that had gotten benched for Josh McCown earlier this year" awful. And it's not like the Raiders gave up on the run, as they only passed 60% of their plays, a percentage that wasn't that high, considering the Vikings were ahead for most of the game.

I know it was Daunte making those throws, but lets be honest here--this isn't the Daunte we remember from the Vikings. This Daunte has had one, maybe two, good games since leaving the Vikings and had his knee shredded. Antoine Winfield had to leave early because of his hamstring injury, but that doesn't really explain why the Vikings' secondary were leaving people so wide open. Cedric Griffin has regressed and Marcus McCauley isn't playing up to his potential. To be honest, I think it has to do with the scheme and with the coaches, because the problem last year wasn't the secondary-it was the inability to get to the quarterback combined with the fact that teams did not even try to run the ball against the Purple, something that wasn't a problem on Sunday.

20,000
At some point between 8am and 9am today, the Ragnarok received its 20,000th visitor. As someone who writes because I need an outlet to talk Purple while surrounded by NFC East fans, I never really thought I'd hit that mark (Never really thought I'd hit 10,000, actually). So, just a word of thanks to everyone whose stopped by and Skol Vikings!

[I'll be traveling for the Holiday starting tomorrow. Not sure if I'll be able to post much over the Holiday, but I should be back by Monday at the latest. I'll be visiting family, so odds are I'll want to get away-it's just a matter of whether I can. Make sure to check back and see throughout the week.]

More on the Hallowed LCL

Stephanie Bell of ESPN.com has a very informative piece on Adrian Peterson's outlook and what an LCL injury is. I'll be honest--I was shocked to see it, but only because I haven't read anything on ESPN.com that I could describe as "informative" in a long time. So what's an LCL?

"The LCL is one of the four main stabilizing ligaments of the knee, situated on the outer aspect of the joint, and it runs from the far end of the thigh bone (femur) to the near end of the outer bone of the lower leg (fibula). It is opposite the medial collateral ligament, which occupies the same spot on the inner aspect of the knee joint, running from femur to tibia (larger lower leg bone). The main function of the LCL is to protect the knee from excess bowing outward (also called varus stress), or more simply, it helps control lateral stability. It is injured if a bowing or varus force is applied that exceeds what the ligament can handle, typically as a result of direct contact. Peterson told Minneapolis' Star Tribune that he felt a helmet or a shoulder hit his knee and then felt the pain."

She goes on to state that Peterson's LCL injury is a "Grade II+" which means that it's serious enough to raise questions as to when the Purple Jesus will return. And while it means that he'll be at risk to reinjure it throughout his career, it is not unusual for injuries of this nature, and that does not mean that it's that big of risk in the future.

The most important part? The Purple Jesus should be able to return in his full glory:

"Peterson will be left with some decreased lateral stability in his knee; the ligament is forever altered based on the extent of his injury. However, his ability to compensate for it with muscular support (and he may wear a protective brace as an additional measure) could allow him to return looking like the same running back."

So we've got that going for us. Which is nice.

Resurrecting the Purple Jesus

Gonzo from DailyNorseman.com thinks that the Vikings should put Adrian Peterson on IR and shut him down for the rest of the season. I have to respectfully disagree. Now, I'm in no way arguing that the Vikings should rush him back onto the field, or give him forty carries in his first game back. In fact, I think it is imperative that the Vikings bring Peterson back slowly. They should not, however, shut him down.

First off, it appears that his injury is relatively minor. The Vikings think he could be back by the Giants game. That seems to be rushing it to me (Peterson shouldn't play until he's cleared for an entire week of practice), but the fact that he might be able to play after one week off implies it's not a major injury.

Secondly, it is important for him to play in games this season if he is healthy. It's not easy to return to form after sitting out because of an injury. As we've seen many times, it takes time for an athlete to learn to trust their body again. For example, after blowing out a knee, running backs don't usually return to their preinjury form until the season after their return. If Peterson is healthy this year, it will be better for his performance next year if he can learn to trust his knee again, something he'll need to play to do.

Personally, I think it'd be best if they gave him at least one more week off prior to his return. Assuming there are no complications or setbacks and the Vikings (and Dr. James Andrews) aren't underestimating the timetable Peterson would return for the Detroit game, rather then the Giants game. This would give him two full weeks to heal and give him a full week of practice prior to his return. It would also mean that on the third game, he rose again. Awfully poetic, don't you think?

A Debacle

[Otherwise known as "I award you no stars, Goodbye Childress and Pray for Purple Jesus]

First off, let me apologize for the lack of posts over the past week. I was moving, which, combined with a busy week at work, meant that I wasn't able to properly consider the Packers game. And after that effort, it's probably for the best. I mean, who wants to put hours into contemplating an event that turns out so unbelievably poorly?

And make no mistake about it--there were few, if any, noteworthy performances by the Purple in that game. Not too surprising, considering that was the worst loss the Vikings have ever had to the Packers. Unlike other losses, I'm not going to be searching for the silver lining, the positives, or any of that other nice stuff. This team did not come to play on Sunday and they got pounded.

The defense wasn't there, at all. I'm used to the Purple having problems stopping the pass. However, I'm not used to them getting run over by a team that cannot rush. The Packers had more yards on the ground than their season average in the first half. Ryan Grant had 120 yards rushing. Not only was that a career high, it was the second time Grant had ever broken 100 yards rushing and the only time he'd done so against a defense that wasn't the worst in the NFL in stopping the run (his other 100 yard game was against Denver). Part of it was that the Packers attacked the edges, running quick off tackle plays. A lot of it, however, was the Vikings defense playing poorly.

The offense's problems weren't similar to the defense's in that they weren't new. They were a lot worse than normal, that's for sure. The Vikings did not have a drive longer than 5 plays (including punts) until their second drive of the second half. They failed to convert a single third down, failing eight times. EIGHT TIMES. Zero for Eight. I don't have any problems with my blood pressure, and I don't particularly want any, so I'm going to move on to another fun topic.

Is there any reason to bring back Childress next year? The team is 9-16 under his watch and the offense, which is supposed to be his speciality, is so bad that every adjective I've come up just doesn't seem to describe it. The team has quit on him at least once (Week 17 last year) and likely quit on him again on Sunday. His personnel decisions have been mediocre at best and he's made two decisions (cutting Robinson and docking Williamson's pay) that have likely cost him a lot of support in the locker room, both of which could have been avoided if he'd thought them through. The most damning thing is that not only has the team not been successful, it has gotten worse as each season has worn on. I'm not going to be one of those people that pines for Mike Tice. He had more success than Childress, but he wasn't a good enough coach to get the Vikings to the Super Bowl. I am, however, ready for the Vikings to start looking for a coach that will get the Vikings to the Promised Land, because Childress is clearly not.

Finally, if you haven't heard, the Purple Jesus has a lateral colleteral ligament tear in his right knee. It won't require surgery and he should be back this season. The injury probably ends any chance he had at breaking the rookie rushing record, but he's still well ahead of the back with the second most yards. Peterson has 1081 yards, 208 yards more than Willie Parker, who is in second place with 873 yards.

296

He was anointed. It was done jokingly, but he was anointed. Who the hell calls a rookie "Purple Jesus"? (Kissing Suzy Kolber, actually, but that's not the point here). That's not the question here though. The question is, what kind of football player lives up to that nickname? What kind of player turns in a game that makes everyone stop calling him "Purple Jesus" ironically and starts doing it seriously? And then what kind of player turns in a game that makes "Purple Jesus" seem like it's inadequate?

Adrian Peterson, that's who. 296 yards in one game. 30 carries, each of which gained an average of 9.87 yards. 253 yards in the second half. The only player to crack the 200 yard mark twice in a season. He broke tackles in every way possible, going through, around and over defenders. He slipped through holes that were closed. He found another gear when he saw open field ahead of him. In short, he rushed for TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY SIX YARDS.

I'm not John Updike. I'm not going to be able capture Adrian Peterson's performance with words the way Updike captured Ted Williams. Instead, I'll let his performance speak for itself. 296 yards on 30 carries. An NFL single game record. As a rookie.