Monthly archive: October, 2012

Some Festive Product Placement

October 11, 2012, by 2 comments

Ever since I made the switcheroo from Vikings Gab to my own site, one of the most disappointing aspects of the whole thing is that I was no longer included on a bunch of marketing mailing lists that resulted in me getting a bunch of free Vikings stuff.

Today, however, I received an email that perhaps made me wonder if Vikings Territory isn’t getting a little bit of notice these days.  The timely email provides not only me, but all of us, with a fun little treat for the Halloween season.

I present you with the Sack-O-Lantern (my name, not theirs, TRADEMARKED!):

A full and free set of stencils and instructions can be found by clicking here, and Jared Allen isn’t the only player available.  Should you decide to channel your inner-child this October, you could also opt for an Adrian Peterson or Percy Harvin pumpkin carving kit.

Anyways, I thought I’d pass this along on the off-chance one of you (or your kids) might enjoy celebrating some of these victories with a customized Vikings pumpkin.

So, that’s all for now… until somebody else sends me something free to promote, ahem, here’s looking at you DirecTV and Cabela’s.

Links Of The Week: Headed To D.C.

October 10, 2012, by 28 comments

Heck, it has been a while, so let’s do this thing:

A Different Kind Of Challenge

October 8, 2012, by 9 comments

The 4-1 Minnesota Vikings have faced quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert, Andrew Luck, Alex Smith, Matt Stafford, and Matt Hasselbeck so far this season.  Through five weeks these guys have rushed 59 times for 302 yards and two touchdowns.

Robert Griffin III alone, however, has rushed 42 times for 241 yards and four touchdowns (and a concussion).

That concussion could keep RGIII off the field this Sunday, giving the Vikings their second backup quarterback in a row, but all of the reports on Monday suggest that Leslie Frazier’s Vikings will, at the very least, need to spend this week preparing to face their first uber-athletic quarterback of the season.

RGIII has taken the league by storm, right up until he got blown up this week, and is making a strong bid to be 2012’s rookie of the year.  The Vikings have struggled against scrambling throwers in the recent past, but this defense has a very different feel to it.

Let’s take a look at how the Vikings defense might approach the new challenge that RGIII presents:

Spy Games

One of the most tried-and-true approaches to stopping a flight risk quarterback is to assign a “spy” to that player.  A defender with the discipline, intelligence, and instincts to prevent a guy like RGIII from ripping off big chunks of yardage on the ground.

Antoine Winfield, Chad Greenway, and Harrison Smith all come to mind as guys that might fit that bill and they could be key in keeping Griffin under wraps.  Ideally, the Vikings would be able to rotate “spy” duties throughout the defense to keep the Redskins guessing, and to perhaps sneak a few plays in there where no spy is actually assigned.

Mix It Up

Griffin has received plenty of praise for his ability to make good reads and stay cool under pressure.  He is still a rookie, however, and the Vikings could be well served by showing a lot of different packages and blitzes.  The team has recently made a new commitment to “keeping it simple,” but rookie quarterbacks are prone to make mistakes and confusing him could only play to our advantage.

I would be very pleased to see Winfield, Josh Robinson, or even Marcus Sherels blitz fromt eh corner from time to time, aiming for Griffin’s blind side.

Match That Athleticism

Veteran smarts and savvy cannot be undervalued on this young defense, but sometimes athleticism like Griffin’s needs to be matched with athleticism.  In this case, matching Griffin with Griffen could be very interesting.

I would, at least slightly, increase Everson Griffen’s snap count this week.  Griffen is almost certainly the most athletic player on this defense and he needs to be included in the effort to stop RGIII.  For his size, Griffen is incredibly fast and has long limbs, both of which would help him pursue Griffin on the run.

Simple Basics

Kevin Williams opened last week’s game by letting a tackle for a loss and then a sack slip right through his fingers.  Those types of missed tackles might be a side note in the aftermath of a game against Matt Hasselbeck and the Titans, but Griffin and the Redskins are more dangerous on offense and those miscues can easily turn into important game changers in the blink of an eye.

Williams and the rest of the defense have to make sure to take advantage of the opportunities they do get.  This is a tougher task than the Titans were, and missed tackles and dropped interceptions are not something we want to be the main focus after this weekend.

As The Dust Settles: Harrison Smith Will Not Be Suspended

October 8, 2012, by 7 comments

Yesterday was glorious, was it not? I mean seriously, how could you ask for a more perfect day from the football gods? Is it wrong that I almost enjoy watching Green Bay lose at the last second to last year’s worst team as much as watching our Vikings steam roll over the Tennessee Titans? Part of me thinks that it is just unhealthy to hold so much disdain for a division rival. The other part of me welcomes it with open arms and cherishes it.

Seriously, though – who would have thought that after week 5 the Vikings would only have one loss (a loss at the last second to the same team that just beat Green Bay) and the Packers would only have two wins? I LOVE FOOTBALL!

(I hate fantasy football… But now is not the time for that rant.)

So, now that the dust has settled after the Vikings blew up the Titans, let’s look at some of the stories that came out today.

Harrison Smith Will Be Fined. Will Not Be Suspended.

(Edit: Apparently now Smith will not even be fined. Great news.)

From Adam Schefter himself:

A-friggin-men. Because, make no mistake about it, a lot of the success this defense is having so far through the year can be attributed to the rookie safety. And I’m not so sure if it’s just his own play but more so the attitude he brings to this team. When I watch this defense it just seems obvious to me that Harrison Smith’s intensity has rubbed off on his peers. People are flying to the ball, making plays, hitting hard, making tackles and, for the most part, not making mistakes. Not to mention Smith has had some game-changing plays himself…

I didn’t think it was likely Harrison Smith would miss another game because of the incident with the ref yesterday, but I was worried about it. I think Smith could be crucial in helping to contain a guy like Robert Griffin III next week (assuming RGIII plays – I’m sure we’ll talk about that more during the week).

Harrison Smith Ejected For Shoving Ref

As far as the infraction itself that has landed Harrison Smith in so much hot water… I think it was overblown. Smith did not grab the ref and ‘shove’ him out of the way. The way I saw it (through my purple glasses, of course), the ref was driving Harrison back (for an excessive amount of time I might add) and Smith just kind of moved his arm and attempted to side step the ref. It’s not like he was aggressive in the slightest sense towards the judge. Not to mention, did anyone notice the way the ref’s arm was firmly lodged on Smith’s  throat? Just saying… Either way – it is what it is. And I think it should be noted that Smith has shown great maturity by immediately taking responsibility and apologizing for it and accepting the consequences he will now face (a fine).

Harrison Smith’s intensity is great for this team and his personal play… But he does need to get his emotions under control so we don’t keep running into these personal fouls.

Jerome Simpson’s Mystery Injury

Our friends over at The Viking Age did a great job of pointing out some of the theories regarding Jerome Simpson’s mystery injury that kept him out of most of yesterday’s game. It seems that everyone is saying something different about Simpson’s numb leg…

Simpson himself told the media that he begin feeling the numbness in his leg the night before and that it “…just felt like my foot was kind of asleep, I guess.” The Vikings staff, however, is telling the media that Simpson did something to his leg during pre-game warm-ups.

The Viking Age have a different, unique take.

During pre-game intros, Simpson was seen doing some high-flying acrobatics. (Check out that link for a mid-air picture.) Or, in other words, it looks like he was jumping around and getting some pretty significant air (as he’s known to do). Could this be the cause of the injury? Wouldn’t be the first time someone hurt their leg during some sort of excessive celebratory maneuver, Gramatica.

And if Simpson did injure his leg during pre-game warm-ups as Leslie Frazier and Rick Spielman are saying, why is he jumping around like that during introductions anyway?

Let’s hope Simpson’s leg gets its feeling back before next Sunday and he’s able to contribute against the Redskins.

In the meantime, here’s a fun little article highlighting the “Top 10 dumbest sports injuries” which, ironically enough, happens to include Gus Frerotte injuring his neck after head-butting a wall. How many times have we all wanted to do that during a Vikings game, huh?

Vikings Improve Record By Rolling Past The Titans

October 7, 2012, by 20 comments

The bad news?  The Chicago Bears won again.

The good news?  Everything else that happened on Sunday.

That’s right, folks.  Your Minnesota Vikings are now a 4-1 football team that absolutely dominated the Tennessee Titans in every facet of the game.  They won by a score of 30-7.  They had seven more first downs than the Titans.  They had 123 more rushing yards and 43 more passing yards.  Plus, they won the time-of-possession battle by six minutes.

It was just an all around good day for the Vikings (including that glorious loss Green Bay suffered!) and here are some main points of interest following the team’s latest victory.

Harrison Smith’s Ejection

Harrison Smith had already made an impact early in Sunday’s matchup by recovering a Chris Johnson fumble and on a couple of nice hits.  What will be most remembered, however, is the look on his face when he realized he was being booted from the game when he decided to get too physical with an official following an Antoine Winfield interception.

“I really dont know,” Harrison said of his status for next week.  “I hope to be out there. But I made a stupid decision and I have to accept the consequences.”

“Stupid by me,” Smith admitted to Tom Pelissero.  “I should never put the officials in a position like that. I should never touch them. I know that. I’ve lost my head before, but I’ve never had an incident with an official. I completely apologize for that.”

Smith deserves credited for owning his mistake, and it is easier to forgive provided the outcome of this game, but we all will hope this event never repeats itself.  His intensity needs to be contained between the whistles on a weekly basis.  I’d like to say this was just a rookie mistake, but those rules are the same in college and high school and even earlier.

I would be shocked if Smith gets any sort of suspension, but he can certainly be expected to be nailed with a fine upwards of $20,000.

Ponder Makes Some Progress

Christian Ponder sandwiched some very poor decisions with a great start to this game and a strong finish.  He ended up completing 25 of 35 passes for 258 yards and two scores.  He also tacked on a trio of good looking runs for 31 yards.

His first two interceptions of the year came on back-to-back pass attempts, one at the end of the first half and one to begin the second half.  The first resulted in a missed opportunity to add points and the second could have shifted momentum greatly had the Vikings defense not been so dominant today.

Ponder hit eight different pass catchers today, though, and looked mostly comfortable in the pocket, confident, and like he is making strides in the right direction.

Harvin Continues Incredible 2012 Campaign

Last week, Harvin willed his team to a victory by making the most of his special teams opportunities against the Lions, and this week he didn’t get to return a single kickoff.

Instead, he ran the ball twice for eight yards and a score, and hauled in eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.

I am becoming more and more convinced that no single player, especially non-quarterback, is as important to his football team as Percy Harvin is to the Vikings right now.  His ten yard touchdown catch and run is something I could watch over and over and over and over.

Walsh Leads Impressive Rookie Class

Six rookies registered stats in the box score today, but perhaps none is quite as important than Blair Walsh’s three field goals in as many attempts.  Not to mention his five kickoffs for touchbacks, neutralizing the return unit of the Titans.

Rookie cornerback Josh Robinson led the defense with six solo tackles and held up well considering how much the Titans tried to pick on him today.

Rick Spielman and his staff deserve credit for this rookie class coming in and helping in ways, both big and small, to get the Vikings to where they are now.

LIVE CHAT: Vikings hosting the Titans

October 7, 2012, by 5 comments

Vikings & Titans Inactives

October 7, 2012, by 1 comment

The inactives list for today’s game:

VIKINGS:  Quarterback Bethel-Thompson, receiver Wright, safety Sendejo, safety Raymond, linebacker Mitchell, offensive lineman Asper, and defensive end Reed.

There is nothing here, really, that should take us by surprise.  We knew last night that Mitchell’s new injury would be keeping him out today, which makes the return of Erin Henderson even more important.  Wright continues to be inactive this season, joining Greg Childs as an unproductive receiver draft pick from this offseason (Childs went out for the season with a preseason injury).

TITANS:  Quarterback Locker, running back Harper, linebacker Bailey, offensive lineman Otto, guard Lutui, receiver Hawkins, and defensive end Solomon.

The first thing you should notice is that star receiver Kenny Britt will indeed be active today, despite earlier reports to the contrary.  Britt hasn’t practiced in a few weeks, but apparently is ready to go despite suffering a setback earlier this week.