Monthly archive: November, 2012

Weekend Answers To Your Questions

November 30, 2012, by 2 comments

Once again, I solicited questions from you guys and spent some time thinking about the answers.  Here are the results:

Adam, to what degree do you think poor offensive line play and a weak receiving corps are having on the performance of Christian Ponder?

Football is a team sport, no doubt about it.  The thing is, however, that football is a unique team sport in that one position is far and away more important than all of the rest.  Argue all you want, but quarterbacks make and break football teams in the modern day NFL.

Now, I’m not making excuses for the receivers dropping the football or for failings in pass protection, but Christian Ponder has to embrace the leadership role he is lucky enough to have before he flat out loses it.  He has to gather the troops, make clear his expectations, lead by example and demand more of himself with every lesson learned.

I think, especially with Harvin sidelined, Ponder has indeed drawn the short straw when it comes to receiver talent.  However, that offensive line is better than people are giving credit for, and if he stopped imagining non-existent pressure causing him to flee the pocket (and, thus, creating pressure by changing directions) I think the line holds up better than most realize.

Also, apologists can make all of the excuses they want for Ponder, but he has the best running back in football right now making life a heck of a lot easier on him than it could be.

Continue Reading →

Harvin’s Presumed Absence Casts Even More Doubt

November 30, 2012, by No comments yet

The man who dominated September and October hardly even saw action in November.

When Percy Harvin sprained his ankle on November 4th, just prior to the bye week, he was able to reenter that game and many presumed that was a sign that he would return to the field in a relatively short time span.

That has not proven to be true, and it appears that the Vikings will be without the multi-talented yardage machine on Sunday, in a must-win game at Green Bay.

Leslie Frazier said Harvin has not had any major setbacks, but simply has not improved as quickly as they had hoped, and the Vikings have officially listed him as “doubtful” for Sunday’s matchup.

This means Jarius Wright will again see extensive action in what will be his third week of activity.  The Vikings coaches say they have designed plays specifically for Wright, so it is fair to say this will be a true test for the rookie.

Let’s Open This Thing Up Again

November 28, 2012, by 24 comments

Alright… let’s do this thing.

Once again, I would like to open the floor up to you all.  Post some questions in the comments section of this post and I will do my best to hit as many as possible sometime this weekend.

Preference will be given to questions regarding the upcoming matchup against the Vikings, the Vikings quarterback situation, and what it is like to work with the great Brett Anderson.

Allen Dinged With Cookie Cutter Fine

November 28, 2012, by 1 comment

If I win the $550 million jackpot tonight I will buy a suite for all of us to share next season.  As a millionaire, the amount of that would be nothing but a drop in the bucket.

Which is exactly what $21,000 is to Jared Allen.

Nevertheless, Jared Allen was only fined that amount for his launch block that ended the season for Bears guard Lance Louis.  While Allen hit him from a blind angle, the knee of Louis got stuck in the grass at Soldier Field, causing the damage that landed him on the injured reserve.

Links Of The Week: Packer Week #1

November 27, 2012, by 7 comments

The Vikings have officially entered survival mode (which they prefer to call “controlling their own destiny”) and will travel from one daunting task directly to another as they endevour to take down the Packers in their own house.

Let’s take a look around the web at some of the best articles regarding last week’s loss to Chicago, and the upcoming matchup in Green Bay:

  • It could be that the clock is ticking on the Leslie Frazier era in Minnesota already.
  • The Giants may have laid out a blue print for the Vikings to use against Green Bay this week.
  • Jarius Wright has been able to take advantage of his two games on the active roster in ways that the other receivers have not.
  • Christian Ponder was 0 for 10 (including an interception) on passes that went 10 yards or further down the field on Sunday.  More interesting notes right here.
  • Plain and simple:  Jerome Simpson isn’t getting it done.
  • A gallery of photos from Sunday’s loss to the Bears.
  • Perhaps dropped passes are simply the latest excuse for Christian Ponder supporters to point to.
  • Adrian Peterson’s hold on the NFL’s rushing title is now 172 yards strong.  His hold on the football, however…
  • As if the Packers needed more talent, they really struck gold with cornerback Casey Heyward, who should be avoided if at all possible.
  • The Vikings replaced Jordan Todman with undrafted running back Joe Banyard on the practice squad.
  • Toby Gerhart hasn’t been given much opportunity on the field, but that is keeping him from making a difference off of it.
  • Don’t be surprised if Greg Jennings’ return means the Packers use an empty backfield, with four receivers and a tight end, to neutralize the Vikings pass rush on Sunday.
  • The Vikings have an extensive injury report to keep an eye on this week.
  • Jerome Felton’s success has resulted in a fullback lining up in Bill Musgrave’s offense 20% more often than last season.
  • A former Vikings linebacker is running for office in Illinois, hoping to replace the recently resigned Jesse Jackson Jr.
  • Leslie Frazier describes all of Sunday’s drops as “really unacceptable.”  So there’s that.
  • In the last five games Adrian Peterson is averaging 7.4 yards per carry.  So, tell me again why he didn’t get the ball on third and short… or fourth and short.

Jaguars pluck RB Jordan Todman from Vikings’ practice squad

November 27, 2012, by 1 comment

The Minnesota Vikings have one of the best offensive backfields in the NFL, headed by superhuman Adrian Peterson. Toby Gerhart isn’t too shabby either.

Unfortunately, the depth behind No. 28 and No. 32 took hit on Tuesday when the Jacksonville Jaguars signed second-year running back Jordan Todman off of the Vikings’ practice squad.

Todman, who the Vikings signed off of the San Diego Chargers’ practice squad near the end of the 2011 season, was a promising young running back who appeared to have a future in Minnesota as a third-down back. Injuries, however, limited his playing time during the preseason, which allowed fellow second-year man Matt Asiata to lock down the No. 3 running back spot.

The Jaguars signed Todman in hopes of providing depth to a positional group that has been mutilated by injuries. Star runner Maurice Jones-Drew has been hobbled all season long and is currently nursing an ankle injury while Week 12 starter Jalen Parmele was sent to the IR on Tuesday due to a leg injury.

It was expected that Todman would give both Asiata and Gerhart a run for their money as Peterson’s main backup in 2013, but the Jaguars had other plans.

It’s sad to see such promising young talent ripped away from the Vikings, especially by a inept team like the Jaguars. That’s the NFL for you, though.

Question Of The Week: Jared’s Hit Ends A Season

November 26, 2012, by 6 comments

Some would argue that Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bears was the end of the Vikings season in terms of participating in any week 18 games.  What we know for sure is that Jared Allen’s blind side block ended Lance Louis’s season.

On an Antoine Winfield interception, Allen launched his body at the offensive lineman in an attempt to block during the return, but the result was a knee injury that has brought more criticism Allen’s way than he has seen since he did this to Matt Schaub in 2008.

The hits to Schaub resulted in the NFL making a rule change the following offseason, but this time around Allen’s hit on Louis was one that is already illegal despite the fact that he wasn’t penalized for it.  Allen can expect a hefty fine from the NFL and plenty of jabs from the team that currently leads the NFC North but now has to finish out the regular season without their best offensive lineman.

Head Coach Lovie Smith offered up his take on Monday.

“Jared Allen plays the game a certain way, a good player in our league,” said Smith.  “I think there are some plays when you look at them again, you say, ‘Hey, we could have done without that.’ I think our game could do without that play. We have an injured player right now based on it. I think he could have gotten blocked a little bit differently, but that’s about all I can probably say about it. I’m sure the league will look at it and give another opinion about what they think.”

I can’t honestly say that I believe Allen is a dirty player that intentionally hurt Louis, and he echoed that in his post-game comments about the play and his apology to Louis and his family, but I also think the play is one that the NFL could indeed do without and that Allen will (and should) hear from the league office.

What do you think Allen should expect provided the evidence and testimony mounting against him on this one?