Analysis

At Halftime, Things Are Close

November 4, 2012, by No comments yet

Percy Harvin blew up at Leslie Frazier on the sideline following three awful plays on offense, and then the Vikings defense had to take the field following the go-ahead field goal.

The defense had some nice plays but a failed fourth down stop, a Chad Greenway penalty, and a couple of missed tackles gave the Seahawks just enough life on their final drive of the half.

The drive ended on a screen pass to Golden Tate, who appears to be our Achilles heel today, how flew across the goalline for a touchdown.

The silver lining here, however, was that Steven Hauschka missed the extra point following the touchdown.

With 38 seconds and three timeouts, the Vikings got the ball at their 40 yard line on a short kickoff.

A one yard pass to Percy Harvin on first down resulted in a timeout being used.  Then Ponder threw and incompletion to set up third and nine.  Gerhart, on a draw, gashed Seattle for a first down however, which kept the Vikings alive with one more timeout to spend.

On first down, Ponder inexplicably held onto the ball forever and he was sacked.  The Vikings then used their last timeout.  Predictably, a three yard pass to Michael Jenkins, who was too immobile to get out of bounds, ended the half.

Your halftime score:  20-17, Seahawks.

I hate to say it, but I am incredibly close to hopping onto the Joe Webb bandwagon.  I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.

Running Sets Us Up For A Touchdown, Pass Attempts Make It A Field Goal

November 4, 2012, by No comments yet

Adrian Peterson is running like an absolute animal, generating 144 yards with a few minutes left in the first half of this game, and even Percy Harvin had a nice run with a little bit of attitude.

The run, run, run type of offense being ran set the Vikings up at Seattle’s 14 with a first down and they seemed to be knocking on the door of a touchdown.

A short pass to Toby Gerhart followed by a horribly inaccurate short incompletion towards Harvin set Christian Ponder up with a third down attempt where he got blown up in the backfield, ending our hopes of a third touchdown.

A Blair Walsh field goal put the Vikings up by three.

Run, Musgrave, run.

Another Peterson TD Ties It Up

November 4, 2012, by No comments yet

Following Sidney Rice’s gimme touchdown, the Vikings were able to move the ball efficiently (with help from a pass interference call) and Ponder looked a little improved over his couple of first drives.

Adrian Peterson, however, continues to steal the show and tied the game at 14 with a forceful four yard run on second and goal.

Just a little ways into the second quarter, Peterson has rushed 10 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

Harvin Miscue Changes Momentum

November 4, 2012, by No comments yet

After the Vikings went for seven in the opening drive by riding the shoulders of Adrian Peterson, things got a whole lot less good for Minnesota.

After forcing Seattle to punt because of their own inability to catch a football, the Vikings failed passing attempt on first down eventually led to a third and long attempt.  Bill Musgrave opted to hand the ball to Percy Harvin who was stripped of the football while trying to stretch the play for a first down.  Seattle recovered and Golden Tate caught a touchdown in front of A.J. Jefferson at the end of the drive.

The Vikings were unable to do much, despite Peterson’s best efforts, on the following drive.  For some reason, Christian Ponder is still allowed to roll to his right, which suggests to me that perhaps nobody in Winter Park watches any game tape of themselves… ever.  Nothing good seems to happen when he roles to his right.

The Seahawks seem able to move the ball well against this Vikings defense, even with Sidney Rice throwing passes, and that needs to change if the Vikings want to come out of this with a road win.  Sidney Rice, with about three minutes left in the first quarter, caught a third down touchdown to put the Seahawks up by seven.

Peterson Dominates First Drive Of The Game

November 4, 2012, by 1 comment

While there is no live chat today here at VT, I am going to try and provide some updates from time to time throughout the afternoon.

First up is the Vikings first drive going for a touchdown, putting them up 7-0 in under two minutes of play in Seattle.

On the first drive, Adrian Peterson looked to be at his best when he ripped off a 74 yard run to set the Viking sup at the goalline after getting caught from behind.  After a failed attempt from Christian Ponder to pass for the score, Peterson punched it in on the next play.

I said it before the game, and I’ll say it again, running is going to be the key to seeing offensive success in Seattle.  Dial up lots of it, Musgrave, and hope for similar results.

Five Keys To The Game

November 4, 2012, by 1 comment

I have had a hectic week and while I fully intended to produce a full “Preview” segment like normal, but I ran out of time.  I still wanted to get something up in advance of this game, however, as it stands to be a turning point type of matchup for this 2012 Vikings team.

It could be a turn for the best, but it could also be a turn for the worst.

Here are five items I consider to be the most important this afternoon:

1.  Time To Go To Bat

Seattle’s starting rookie quarterback Russell Wilson has, thus far in his young career, overcome the pre-Draft knock on him that he is too short.  It is time for that to stop.  Wilson has been an impressive rookie in an already impressive class of quarterbacks, but the Vikings must game plan to shut him down despite the absence of cornerback Chris Cook.

One way they can do that is to use their big defensive linemen to get into the throwing lanes and get their hands in the air.  Brian Robison put on a clinic last week in terms of batting passes, and Jared Allen and Kevin Williams have both made highlight reels in the past by doing this, so we know this isn’t an original idea for the Vikings defense.

Wilson is short.  He may be succeeding anyways, but his passes are more susceptible to being batted down at the line of scrimmage… that is just physics.  The Vikings need to give their secondary some help by employing the long arms of Robison and company this afternoon.

2.  Tackle Well, Live Longer

The Vikings cannot completely stop Seahawk’s running back Marshawn Lynch, but they can endeavor to contain him.

The “Beast” will not be contained, however, if the Vikings continue to tackle (or, perhaps, not tackle) the way they have been the last three weeks.  They missed 17 tackles last week, which resulted in Doug Martin’s monster game on Thursday Night Football.

Chad Greenway, Jasper Brinkley, and Erin Henderson have their work cut out for them this week as they face the running back who is closest to Adrian Peterson for the NFL rushing lead.

3.  Run, Run, Run… and then Run Some More

I’m going to skip the Ponder-doubting that has overwhelmed Vikings Nation in the past few weeks.

Instead, I want to remember a Kansas City team that a few years ago won a significant amount of football game by embracing their stellar running game to the fullest.  Remember when the Chiefs ran Jamal Charles and Thomas Jones on what seemed like every down, including fourth, to move the chains in a safe and time-consuming manner?  I want to see that type of dedication to the run game with the Vikings, who are very well built to do it.

The best way to win this game, and shut up that damned 12th man, is to shove Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart down their throats for seven minutes at a time.

4.  Start Utilizing Rudolph… For Real

Second year tight end Kyle Rudolph is having a decent season, particularly in terms of touchdown catches.  However, I think there is still plenty of untapped potential here.

The Seahawks boast a number of young, high-quality cornerbacks and that could spell trouble for mediocre performers like Jerome Simpson and Michael Jenkins.

Getting the ball to Percy Harvin is always a must, but Rudolph needs to start being utilized more in the every down passing game.  He needs to be running seam routes and he needs to be a threat no matter where the Vikings are on the field.

Feed him the ball, Musgrave.

5.  Special Teams Must Be Special Today

Most of you probably think I’m going to talk about Percy Harvin’s returns or Blair Walsh’s big leg, and that is certainly part of it.

I think both of these teams, however, have very dangerous threats on special teams and the biggest point of emphasis needs to be the Vikings ability to play mistake-free football on the coverage unit.  Leon Washington has a habit of embarrassing opponents, and plllllease Football Gods… don’t let it be the Vikings.

PREDICTION:

I think another close one is in store for us here, and I worry about the outcome, but I still think this Vikings team will be 6-3 in a few hours.  As long as common sense is utilized by the Vikings coaching staff, and the players execute like we know they can, they can come out of this game with another win.

My prediction:  22-17, Vikings

Links Of The Week: Moving Towards Seattle

October 30, 2012, by 15 comments

First off, I want to give a genuine and heartfelt welcome to Gil, our newest writer.  I admire Gil’s ability to write for so many different outlets and produce such interesting content, and I think he will bring another fresh perspective to VT as we wade through this very intriguing 2012 season.  Glad to have you aboard, sir!

Second, happy birthday Brett!

Okay, after a very disappointing home loss to Tampa, the Vikings will soon pack their bags and head to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Seahawks. Whether we are talking about the loss that is in the past, or the game that is in the future, there is a ton of great content out there right now and I wanted to round up the best of the best for you:

  • The Vikings have brought in a punter for a workout which is interesting because the Vikings have one of the most popular/unpopular punters ever.
  • An update on how the whole stadium thing is progressing.  SPOILER:  At this point, it kind of looks like a breakfast danish.
  • Throughout his career Adrian Peterson has set a lot of bars very high, but this one is a new accomplishment.
  • I know this is predictable quarterback-speak, but Christian Ponder has the right attitude right now.
  • There are at least two very good reasons to expect that the Vikings will qualify for the postseason.
  • 17 missed tackles.  That is one stat that will jump out to you in this article about Thursday’s loss to Tampa Bay.
  • A “source” told PFT that opposing defenses have figured out Christian Ponder.
  • Super famous Viking Territory writer Gil Alcaraz IV takes a look at just how explosive Percy Harvin has been in 2012.
  • The topic of this article is so outlandish I can’t even bring myself to type the general subject description to tell you what it is about.
  • Some took Thursday night’s performance as verification that Christian Ponder is not, I repeat: is NOT, the franchise quarterback the Vikings have been looking for.
  • While the Vikings lost Chris Cook last week, Mistral Raymond appears to be making his way back to 100%.
  • Sidney Rice is healthy and looking for a big game against his former team.
  • Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson may prove to be a tough combination for a struggling Vikings defense.
  • This is just simply cool.  Check it out.
  • Leslie Frazier refuses to single out his quarterback and says the entire offense needs to step up.
  • According to my math, Bryant McKinnie has to pay up for about 3,750 lap dances.
  • Route running was a point of emphasis during this week’s practices.