Don’t be mad. Vikings just not good enough.
By Viking Visionary | January 4, 2009
Everyone saw this coming. Even those of us who like to see the world through purple colored lenses had something in the back of our mind telling us that the Vikings were going to be a little bit out gunned against the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs. Not to say that the Vikings had no shot, because they easily could have won this game. But there was a high probability that the Eagles blitz-heavy defense would force Tarvaris Jackson into making a costly mistake at some point. And he did. And the interception returned for a touchdown, of course, ended up being the deciding factor in the game.
But Jackson, as unimpressive as he was, was not the only reason the Vikings lost the game. There were to other problems, and I will put them under the general categories of Special Teams coverage and coaching.
The Special Teams were once again a huge liability for the Vikings, one that rendered their field position game plan useless. There were two forth down plays with inches to go that the Vikings conservatively decided to punt, and on both those occasions, the Eagles returned the punt to right about where the Vikings started to play, giving the Eagles great field position. Hindsight being 20-20, it would have made far more sense for the Vikings to run QB sneaks that usually always get 1 yard or so, and I thought the Vikings would have to call an aggressive game today to get a win. They didn’t, and they lost.
There were many things from the game that indicate some coaching deficiencies. The most obvious was the clock management. Once again, at the end of the first half, the Vikings play calling was about as bad as it could have been. After Cedric Griffin stopped the surging Eagles by picking off Donovan McNabb’s deep pass, the Vikings had two options: Run and run out the clock, or pass aggressively and try to get in position to kick a field goal. Instead, they chose poor mix, running twice and throwing one incomplete pass, giving the Eagles another great shot to either return a punt well or move into field goal position. Thankfully, Chad Greenway stopped Westbrook inbounds with a shoestring tackle, but that does not excuse Childress’ poor clock management.
Just as bad were the multiple instances where both the Vikings’ offensive and defensive leaders could not get the signals from the coaches in time, leading to timeouts. I don’t know if it was a problem with the equipment or with the noise levels, but either way, it indicates poor preparation for a game of this magnitude.
I was not overly impressed with either the offensive or defensive play calling either, but part of that, I think, was due to how well the Eagles players and schemes matched up with those of the Vikings. Still, I thought that the Vikings needed to get ahead early in order to stay in control of this game, and I hoped for some creative and aggressive offensive plays. Instead, the offense stayed very conservative for most of the game. The defense just had a heck of time trying to get pressure on McNabb as the offensive line and running back picked up the blitzes very well. The result was that McNabb had all day to pick apart our defense, and that’s just what he did.
The Vikings did a lot well in this game, too. I was very impressed with how well the defense played against a great QB and RB combo, especially without 4 key defensive starters. If you think about it, it would have been remarkable if the Vikings would have beaten the Eagles in a playoff game WITHOUT E.J. Henderson, Darren Sharper, Pat Williams, and Ray Edwards. As it was, they held the Eagles without an offensive touchdown until late in the fourth quarter when Brian Westbrook took a screen pass over 70 yards. Until that point, Westbrook had done nothing, and the Vikings were only a few minutes away of keeping a very good offense out of the endzone all game.
Adrian Peterson, I thought, played great. He scored two touchdowns, one a classic Peterson breakaway. The Eagles, however, did a great job of getting penetration in the backfield and overwhelming the Vikings’ offensive line, so Peterson was not able to dominate. Chester Taylor was also very effective, and probably not used enough.
Instead of being angry about the loss, I would rather stay positive about the Vikings winning the division and getting into the playoffs. We had a chance, and it didn’t go our way against a team that has all sorts of experience in the postseason. Hopefully we learn from the experience and get even better next year! Good luck to the Eagles as they try to unseat the Giants from atop the NFC.
Topics: Beyond the NFC North, Ragnar's Review, Uncategorized, Vikings | No Comments »
Vikings Playoff Game NOT Blacked Out!
By Viking Visionary | January 3, 2009
Rejoice local Vikings fans! We will not have to drive to Duluth to catch tomorrow’s Vikings game against the Eagles, as the team “sold out” the game before the 3:30 pm deadline today. I was on the fence as to whether I would have purchased some tickets (I was prepped to do so, awaiting the announcement) or driven a few hours and watched the game in a crowded dive full of angry Vikings fans who would rather be in the comfort of their living rooms.
Thankfully, I will not have to make that ill-fated decision. Now it’s just up to the Vikings to beat the Eagles and make me the happiest fan that I have been since they drafted Adrian Peterson. Even if we loose, it has been a good season, and I am very happy just seeing the Purple back in the post-season…but a playoff win would be sweet! Go Vikes!
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Vikings Playoff Game Prediction
By Viking Visionary | December 31, 2008
Vegas is putting the visiting Philadelphia Eagles as three-point favorites over your Minnesota Vikings this upcoming Sunday. Most of the major sports analysts are jumping on the Philly bandwagon, too, largely due to the ass whooping they put on the dysfunctional Cowboys and the shaky performance by Tarvaris Jackson against the Giants. I think that everyone’s attention span is just too narrow.
I think if you asked the know-it-alls after week 16 who would win the same match up, you would get far more answers that are favorable to the Purple. The Eagles were fresh off of a pathetic loss against the Redskins in which they only manage one measley field goal all game, while the Vikings had just lost a game to the Playoff bound Falcons that they statistically dominated in all areas except turnovers.
Turnovers, of course, will be one of the main key points to this Sunday’s game, and you have to give the edge to the Eagles there. They love to apply pressure by blitzing all game long until the quarterback cracks and throws a bad pick. The Vikings defense, although good, takes a more preventative approach and depends on the offense to take risks that lead to turnovers. That’s all fine and dandy if the Vikings are in the lead, but I think that the Vikings will need to be very aggressive on both defense and offense in order to get that lead. One trend I do like concerning the Eagles vaunted defense is that much of their success comes against their divisional rivals on the second occasion that they play them.
Eagles’ Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson seems to be adept at going to school on an offense’s game plan, especially after playing them once. This mostly has to do with knowing how an offense will try to counter the Eagles’ blitz packages and taking away the quarterback’s safety-valve route. Therefore, closed circuit to Brad Childress, the Vikings must devise some new anti-blitz plays and routes that the Eagles won’t be able to see on tape. T-Jack is not the ideal QB to have behind center when you know the pressure is going to be high, but he does have a few good things going for him:
- The Vikings can run the ball. The best antidote to a blitz-heavy defense is a run game that can take advantage of defense players being out of position. If the Vikings pound the ball well, the Eagles will be reluctant to blitz their linebackers, safeties, and even corners who are needed to hold AD in check.
- Jackson can run. If Jackson can keep his head and the backs can pick up blitzing players, Jackson will have opportunities to gouge the Eagles with a few QB sneaks.
- Berny Berrian can go deep. Mark my words - You will see the Vikings air it out deep at least twice, unless the Vikings are way out in front of the Eagles, which I don’t anticipate.
For the Vikings to win this game, I think they need to gain at least 150 yards running, and they need to limit Brian Westbrook to one touchdown. This will require both the offensive and defensive lines to play like men possessed, which is the kind of effort you would hope players put forth in the playoffs. The other thing the Vikings need, and which is in jeopardy, is tons of crowd noise. I still can’t believe that the first home playoff game since 2000 is not sold out, and that Vikings fans are giving Eagles fans the perfect opportunity to fly in and steal an important aspect of home field advantage.
Nonetheless, I think the Vikings shock the world and win this game, 23-16. Even if they do loose, I will consider this season a success, and hope that the young Vikings can learn from this valuable playoff experience.
Topics: Purple Predictions, Vikings | No Comments »