Analysis

Open Forum: Fourth Quarter

January 5, 2013, by 140 comments

The Packers got the ball to start the second half and once again looked calm and efficient against a Vikings defense that appeared to have no answers for either Aaron Rodgers and DuJuan Harris.  An Everson Griffen sack on the drive wasn’t enough to derail the Packers completely but they did manage to hold the Packers to a field goal on a beautifully defended pass from Harrison Smith.

However, a 12-men penalty (Jasper Brinkley) unbelievably kept the Packers on the field inside the 10 yard line which of course is not good.  A quick checkdown to John Kuhn put the Packers up by three touchdowns.

The Packers, with a comfortable lead, were then able to key in on Adrian Peterson and contain him but a few nice passes to Kyle Rudolph and Jarius Wright gave the Vikings some life.  It wasn’t enough to keep them out of a 4th down scenario, however, and that play ended up being the nail in the coffin.  Joe Webb was stripped by Clay Matthews for the games first turnover.

On a great run stop from Fred Evans and Harrison Smith, Smith looked to be seriously hurt, proving that even when things go right for the Vikings they go wrong.  At least that seems to be the way of it tonight.  The Vikings did, however, succeed in getting the Packers offense off the field one play later.

The third quarter ended following a Joe Webb interception.

The fourth quarter has to be really, really, really, really, really, really good if the Vikings are going to pull this one off.

Open Forum: Third Quarter

January 5, 2013, by 60 comments

The second quarter began with the final play of the first quarter being reversed, giving Green Bay a touchdown and the lead, while Mason Crosby booted the kickoff through the endzone for a touchback.

Then the second quarter got underway officially.

Then disaster struck.  Joe Webb tripped over a completely beat Clay Matthews for a sack and then got obliterated, once again tossing the ball up to nowhere, on third down putting the Packers offense back on the field.

Harrison getting a good lick on DuJuan Harris, Jared Allen getting a coverage sack, and then another solid tackle from Smith on a Greg Jennings completion allowed the Vikings defense to escape without allowing any more damage to be done.

The Vikings offense then had a fairly uneventful three and out, ending with a Jerome Simpson completion where he was short of the first down marker, a problem that has plagued the Vikings all season.

The Packers were then able to dink and dunk their way down the field, but stalled out just short of field goal range, and decided to go for it on a 4th and five situation.  Of course, Greg Jennings converted a pass and beat Chris Cook after the catch before being shoved out of bounds at the two.  A stop of John Kuhn followed by a Jermichael Finley drop followed by yet another stop of Kuhn resulted in another 4th down situation.

This time, the Packers opted for the chip shot field goal, which extended the Packers lead to seven full points.

The next drive got started off by a nice return from Marcus Sherels, but a Marvin Mitchell penalty set the Vikings back, and Joe Webb once again took the field who immediately overthrew Jerome Simpson on a deep shot by about 10 yards and then was sacked.  Kluwe had to punt out of the Vikings endzone.

At the two minute warning, momentum sure seemed to be going the opposite directions than what the Vikings would have preferred.

With a two minute drill underway, Aaron Rodgers looked to be at his finest as he drove down the field with big gains from Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings putting them inside the five yard line.  Once again the Vikings tried to make a stand near the goalline, except this time fullback John Kuhn was successful in running one in.  This score put the Packers up by two touchdowns and left only 38 seconds on the clock for the Vikings to work with.

A penalty on the short kickoff gave the Vikings decent field position.  A checkdown to Adrian Peterson, an overthrown deep ball, and then a short run from Peterson kept the Vikings offense alive but a long ways away from the end zone.  Then three very poor passes in a row ended the half with the Packers leading 17-3.

Open Forum: Second Quarter

January 5, 2013, by 33 comments

Run, run, run.  That is how the Vikings first possession of Saturday night started.  Nothing unusual, except that the third run was Joe Webb, on an option read, bouncing around for large gain on third down.

This is what a Vikings offense looks like with Webb at quarterback.

In fact, the Vikings didn’t pass the football, leaning heavily on Adrian Peterson, until  the eighth play of the opening drive.  That eighth play was an ugly, wobbly, jump pass that went into the dirt three yards in front of Michael Jenkins.

That is what a Vikings offense looks like with Webb at quarterback.

That opening drive, however, put the Vikings up by three points and chewed up some good clock.

Then, aided by a dropped pass to the running back, the Vikings defense was quickly able to make their exit on the Packers first drive which was a three and out.

The second Vikings drive got off to a nice start with more running, and even a completed pass to Kyle Rudolph, but a third down panic play from Webb was incredibly scary.  Luckily, Rhett Ellison had the presence of mind to bat down Webb’s ill advised pass and the team got to punt the ball.

The Vikings defense had a great opportunity to stuff the Packers once again, but Kevin Williams lining up offsides gave the Packers new life.  After that, the Packers offense appeared efficient and well balanced as they marched down the field.

The quarter ended with the Packers on the one inch line following a DuJuan Harris run that may end up getting reviewed and called a touchdown.

At the end of the first quarter:  Vikings up 3-0.

SKOL!

Ponder Out, Winfield In

January 5, 2013, by 3 comments

As the post below indicated, Christian Ponder (elbow) is amazingly going to be inactive for what should have been his first playoff appearance.  Joe Webb, who Vikings fans are very familiar with, will be starting in his place.

Webb’s backup will be McLeod Bethel-Thompson who has never appeared in a regular season NFL game.  With the way Webb runs the ball, and may be asked to do a lot today, it is reasonable to wonder if our postseason hopes won’t end up on MBT’s shoulders.

The team’s other inactives are receiver Stephen Burton, cornerback Brandon Burton, linebacker Tyrone McKenzie, offensive lineman Troy Kropog, end George Johnson and end D’Aundre Reed.

This means rookie linebacker Audie Cole will be asked to replace McKenzie on special teams.  Cole made a big splash in the preseason by returning two interceptions for touchdowns on back-to-back plays.

The inactives list also does not include Antoine Winfield which is good news for a Vikings secondary that will need all the help it can scrounge up against Aaron Rodgers and the potent passing attack of the Green Bay Packers.

The Final Injury Report Is In, And Interesting

January 4, 2013, by 11 comments

As I mentioned earlier this week, injuries on both teams make Saturday night’s game between the Vikings and Packers a completely unique matchup compared to their previous two.

The Vikings special teams struggled last week with linebacker Tyrone McKenzie leaving due to a shoulder injury.  He has been ruled out once again making the Vikings coverage team a point of interest in this one, especially since electric return man Randall Cobb (ankle) is probable to return to the field.

In fact, Cobb’s return means that the Packers talented group of receivers are now healthier than they have been all season long.  Greg Jennings is at 100% now while Jordy Neson (knee) and Jermichael Finley (quadriceps) are both listed as probable.

The sudden health of Aaron Rodgers passing weapons unfortunately coincides with the Vikings secondary having some substantial health questions.  Rodgers threw a pass in Antoine Winfield’s direction only once prior to Winfield leaving last week’s game with a broken hand that swelled up on him, and then proceeded to pick on his replacement, Marcus Sherels, 10 times in the remainder of the game.

Winfield is listed as questionable but has indicated he will be wearing a new cast on the hand and plans on playing through the pain.  His injured teammates in the secondary are Harrison Smith (knee) and A.J. Jefferson (ankle) are both listed as probable, however.

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder was only able to prepare for his latest biggest career game on a limited basis this week due to an elbow injury in his throwing arm.  Leslie Frazier indicated that Ponder is doing everything possible to get ready for this game, and it seems highly unlikely that anyone else gets the start, but one can’t help but wonder if Joe Webb might be making an appearance Saturday night.

Adrian Peterson (abdomen), Brian Robison (shoulder), Jared Allen (shoulder), George Johnson (quadriceps), Chris Kluwe (knee), and Phil Loadholt (knee) are all listed as probable.

Packers receiver Jarrett Boykin and defensive end Jerel Worthy have both been ruled out after suffering injuries last week.  Running back James Starks (knee) is listed as questionable.

Cornerbacks Tramon Williams (illness) and Davon House (hip) are both considered probable.  Also probable is Charles Woodson (collarbone) who is expected to give the Packers a boost in pass defense after missing considerable time.

The weather forecast for Green Bay is looking to be sub-freezing conditions and possible frozen precipitation.  Considering the Packers passing prowess, and Adrian Peterson’s dominance on the ground, I say the nastier the weather is the better off the Vikings are.

After all, an ice pellet or two clinking off of Mason Crosby’s helmet might just be enough to…

GARBAGE TIME: Serving (and eating) Some Crow

January 2, 2013, by 77 comments

B.Grant

Well, Tomb, now that the Vikings are officially in the playoffs, and now that your prediction insisting they WOULDN’T make it (yes, you capitalized it for effect) is officially an embarrassment for you, it’s time for us to discuss what this four game December finish means for the Vikes and their fans.  I assume you have some grand, wordy explanation as to how your faith in the purple was so weakened for this finish, but within that description, perhaps you could tell us what most surprised you about these last four games.  (Obviously, you had to be surprised by something!)

Personally, I was especially pleased with the defensive improvement we saw, at least until injuries put our not-so-deep secondary on the field against the Packers.  And even then, it was nice to see our offense decide they weren’t going to let us lose.  The defense now seems aggressive, and the secondary is actually taking away some of what the passing offenses want to accomplish.  Timely interceptions against the Bears and Rams were big parts of those wins, and to keep Houston out of the end zone was something more than any defense should expect of themselves.

Obviously, AD running amok against opponents is the key to this team, and the lack of turnovers, timely third down passing, and good defense has made the Vikes worthy of a playoff berth, as well as some real respect within the playoff season.  So, my friend, how do you see things in this playoff week which you said would never happen?

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Links Of Wild Card Week

January 2, 2013, by 3 comments

Well, here we are, fans of a team that nobody expected to make the playoffs.  Now that they have, nobody expects the Vikings to do much in the playoffs.

Here is the best of the best from around the net: