Well, the Vikings are a 10-1 football team with a three game lead in their division.  Life is good.  This recap of Sunday’s game will doubtless have some redundancy to it, as there is very little negative aspects to talk about.

 

BRETT FAVRE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE

The Silver Fox continues to shovel crow down my throat week after week.  As someone that completely opposed the signing of Brett Favre, I am beginning to see that I was possibly wr-wr-wr-wr-mistaken about the impact the forty year old Packer posing as a Viking could have on this team.  Yesterday was the latest example of Favre making sure that he proves people like me wrong. (While I am willing to eat my crow, I still don’t like the guy.)

Favre had his most impressive outing yet as a Viking, against a Bears team that was rated 8th in pass defense.  He steam rolled the Bears by completing 32 of 48 passes for 392 yards (10 shy of his career high), 3 touchdowns, no turnovers, and the ability to leave the game early and let himself rest.  Favre set a franchise record by making sure that at least 5 different receivers caught at least 5 passes each.

Normally I would chastise the coaching staff for making Favre throw that many passes, but in this case I am willing to make an exception.  The Bears were not budging in their stubborn determination to shut down Adrian Peterson, leaving Brett Favre with wide open targets on most occasions.

 

ALL DAY HAS A ROUGH DAY

Adrian Peterson was a huge part of the offense, in that the Bears game plan was obviously to take him out of the equation and make Brett Favre beat them.  If Peterson was not on the field, then Favre probably doesn’t pass with such ease and efficiency against a soft zone defense that consistently had like 27 defenders in the box or something.

That being said, Peterson had another outing in which he did not look like the superstar we’ve come to expect.  His 25 rushes for 85 yards and a touchdown are not terrible numbers, especially when combined with 2 catches for 18 yards.  That is a day that Brandon Jacobs would kill to have right now.

But those are not Adrian Peterson type numbers, and it was not for a lack of touches.  25 carries is perfectly respectable.  Most troublesome was the ease in which the Bears defenders knocked the ball out of his grasp on two occasions.  One of the fumbles resulted in a turnover, and the other was initially called a turnover but was given back to the Vikings after a heads up challenge by BigJohnny Brad Childress and company.  Even despite a 26 point victory over a division rival, Peterson’s fumbles are cause for concern as the playoffs approach.

 

“THE SICK ONE” SHOULD BE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

You’ll notice I don’t pay much attention to weekly awards on this blog.  That has more to do with me feeling bad for players that get no attention (linemen deserve ROY awards, too!).  However, I just want to point out that while the Titans’ Kenny Britt will probably be the rookie of the week because of the dramatic fashion in which he gained his stats, Percy Harvin is the most deserving rookie this week.

Harvin had 45 yards on 2 rushes, 101 yards on 6 catches (his first 100 yard receiving performance), one receiving touchdown, and was unable to return any kicks because the Bears showed their respect for him by kicking it as far away from him as possible.

More importantly than the stats, Harvin showed that he has the toughness, route running skills, and hands to be a very productive receiver for years to come.  His willingness to go over the middle, take to the air to make a tough grab, take on a vicious hit, and still keep his legs moving is amazing.

 

CHESTER TAYLOR GETTING HOT AT RIGHT MOMENT

Chester Taylor has had a somewhat rough start to the year.  His numbers have been down, he was (at least partially) blamed for the loss to the Steelers after letting a pass bounce off his hands which resulted in a pick six, and fans were beginning to discuss life after Chester since it is his contract year.

However, his performance yesterday reminded us of exactly why he is an important player to this offense.  He had 33 yards on 4 carries (would’ve had a touchdown if not for a very questionable holding penalty) in addition to 6 catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Taylor was a consistent player on Sunday, playing mistake-free football, and playing a huge part in helping the Vikings get a whopping 31 first downs to keep the chains moving and dominate the time-of-possession clock by over twenty minutes.

Let’s hope that Taylor can continue to play at such a high level for the rest of the season and into the post season.  When he plays well, the Vikings are a much better football team.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE DOES GOOD ENOUGH

The Vikings offensive line allowed only one sack on Sunday, but struggled more than the stat would suggest.  Bryant McKinnie and Steve Hutchison were on the ground on multiple run plays and the line accounted for more than their fair share of the Vikings 10 penalties. 

Artis Hicks took the place of Anthony Herrera who missed the entire week of practice due to a concussion.  Hicks did a decent job filling in despite a false start penalty and allowing Favre to get hit a couple of times.

Bryant McKinnie continued to struggle in both the pass and run blocking aspects.  His struggles were most noticeable early on, before the Vikings started providing him with more help.  He was also flagged for being down field (he was about 6 yards deep in the end zone) which negated a touchdown pass.

Of all the linemen, I thought John Sullivan did the best job.  He was consistent in picking up the blitz and holding his own in the middle.

Despite the struggles, one has to admit that when a team runs a ridiculous 83 offensive plays in one game, that an offensive line is bound to make more mistakes than in a game where they run 60 plays.

 

THE KICK ASS OFFENSE HAS ARRIVED

They ran 83 plays.  They gained 537 yards.  They had 31 first downs.  They converted two-thirds of their 3rd downs.  They gained an average of 6.5 yards per offensive snap.  They were 66% in the Red Zone.  The were 75% successful in goal-to-go situations.  They had the ball for nearly 41 minutes.  They scored 36 points.

They were successful in all facets of the offense, which leads me to believe that Brad Childress’ famous Kick Ass Offense is here.

 

“SHOCK AND AWWE” DOMINATES

The Bears gained 43 yards on the ground against a defensive line that completely ate up the Bears O-Line.  The longest run of the day came from Jay Cutler on a late scramble for eight yards.

The line also harassed Cutler for much of the day.  Kevin Williams was constantly in Cutler’s face, though didn’t register a sack.  Jared Allen (2 sacks), Ray Edwards (1), and even Pat Williams (1) benefitted from Kevin’s disruptions in the middle, however.

Jared Allen also had a very heads up play in which he picked off Cutler after EJ Henderson forced a deflection that popped straight into the air.  Allen then proceeded to make the bone headed move of trying to lateral the ball forwards, but hey… no harm really came from it… this time.

Perhaps the line’s most shining moment came after a long kick return put the Bears inside the ten yard line.  Stopping Forte for no gain, combined with two sacks on Cutler, resulted in the Bears having to settle for a field goal on their one and only time inside the red zone.

 

E.J. IS CLOSE BUT NOT QUITE THERE

E.J. Henderson has had a rough time recovering from a knee injury.  Yesterday, he showed us that he is feeling better but still not quite back to his normal self.  This was most noticeable on a couple of blitzes in which he was effective enough to hurry Jay Cutler and disrupt the pass.  However, in years past, he would have been a half-step quicker and been able to bring the quarterback down for a sack.

As Henderson continues to get healthier and regain his form this Vikings defense will continue to get even stouter.

 

LEBER DESERVES MORE RECOGNITION

I’ve always liked Ben Leber, and often times base how “valid” I think another site is by whether or not they view Leber as an asset or a liability.  Many people view him as a liability because they don’t know his name, but I am here to tell you that he is a Pro Bowl caliber player that somehow goes unnoticed.

Leber had a quiet day on Sunday, but it is telling that the Vikings want to keep him on the ifeld as much as possible because of his solid tackling and play making ability. 

On the opening series, Ray Edwards slid inside and played defensive tackle while Ben Leber lined up at defensive end.  It only happened once, but it just goes to show how much faith Leslie Frazier has in his weakside linebacker.

 

PASS DEFENSE HAS VERY SOLID DAY

Apparently my readers are all infatuated with Asher Allen (a third string defensive back of all people) thanks to the efforts of one reader who is very, very persistent in ensuring us that Asher Allen is the son of Zeus, can play any position, plays at least three times bigger than he actually is, comes one step closer to curing cancer with every snap he plays, and will someday be elected into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame… 42 times.  (Just kidding, I like the kid, too).

So I would be remiss if I didn’t provide an update on the kid.  Asher has 2 tackles on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Benny Sapp and Karl Paymah did a respectable job as they continue to fill in for Antoine Winfield.  The pass defense only allowed 147 yards passing from Cutler and picked him off twice.

The only glaring play in which a corner was out of position was on a 24 yard touchdown pass to Johnny Knox (The Bears only touchdown and Knox’s only catch) in which Benny Sapp had simply gotten beat to the corner of the end zone and had no safety help. 

While I would still like to see better play out of our safeties, you have to admit this was one of the pass defense’s best performances of the year.  Especially that one play where Asher Allen spit on the turf and a rose bush miraculously started to grow on the fifty yard line.

 

CEDRIC GRIFFIN SHOULD NOT GO UNMENTIONED

If it wasn’t for the gaudy numbers put up by the offense, I would be saying that Cedric Griffin was the player of the game.  To me, he is at least deserving of a game ball.

His 4 tackles all came at perfect times in which he stone-walled a ball carrier from picking up a first down.  His perfect timing also extends to his end zone interception, which pretty much sealed the deal as far as the Vikings victory goes. 

At that point in the game, taking away the opportunity for the Bears to put up more points, and giving the ball back to our offense was a death blow… and Cutler knew it.

 

MADIEU WILLIAMS IS BECOMING A JOKE

At one point during the live chat, one commenter said something along the lines of “That Kahlil Bell guy must really suck if he let Madieau Williams tackle him.”  It was good for a chuckle, but summed up exactly how Williams is starting to be regarded… as a joke.

I didn’t keep an official tally, but I think he missed at least three tackles in yesterday’s game which is unacceptable from a starting safety. 

Both him and Tyrell Johnson better improve very quickly, as the Vikings are almost sure to add some competition to the spot during the coming offseason… and it won’t take much for them to bring in a player capable of playing better than this duo currently is.

On another note, I think Jamarca Sanford has become the latest bright spot in the 2009 draft class and could possibly contend for a starting position at some point during the next couple of years.  The kid plays fierce.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS COMES UP BIG ONCE, STUMBLES TWICE

The Bears did a nice job of taking Darius Reynaud and Percy Harvin completely out of the return game, even though it often meant the Vikings got good field position out of the deal.  Neither Harvin nor Reynaud were allowed to return a single kick or punt during the entire game.

In fact, the only return came from Jeff Dugan on a kickoff in which the Bears were clearly trying to avoid sending the ball towards Harvin.  Dugan returned it for 13 yards.

The special teams did come up big by forcing a fumble for the second time in two games.  Daniel Manning was returning a kick when Eric Frampton punched the ball out and Heath Farwell recovered it.  This set the Vikings offense up with fantastic field position.

The special teams did have a few glaring mistakes, however.  They allowed Knox to return a kick all the way down the field to the Vikings 8 yard line.  Also, a botched snap/hold resulted in a missed extra point, which could be a much bigger deal in a closer game.

 

CONCLUSION

Besides some missed tackles, needing to cut down on penalties, and some minor flaws this game left us fans with very little to fret about. 

While Chester Taylor appeared to get banged up in the fourth quarter, no major injuries appeared to happen on the Vikings side of the ball (The Bears were not so lucky) and momentum is still in their favor as they head to the desert to try and route the Cardinals.

10-1 means that they are still the second best team in the NFC (Go Patriots!) and are maintaining a three game lead plus the tie breaker in the Division.

One more victory against the Bears and we get to boast like crazy about how we swept our division opponents.

How fun is this?