Damage Done

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Dec 24, 2011

The Vikings won Saturday’s matchup against the Redskins, which means little when measuring their success this season, but may end up defining the Vikings moving into the future.

Here is what we know right now:

  • The Vikings can no longer land the top pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  It seems likely that they end up with the third pick next April, which is still a valuable spot to be drafting, but could end up keeping them out of the running for guys like quarterback Andrew Luck and offensive tackle Matt Kalil.
  • Last week, Adrian Peterson said he couldn’t explain why he only received 10 carries against the Saints.  This week, he got his explanation in the form of one of the toughest lessons he will ever learn.  DeJon Gomes hit the side of Peterson’s knee on his first carry of the second half and Peterson was left twitching on the ground, an image that is every fan’s worst nightmare.  Peterson will get an MRI on Saturday night and eventually we will get official word on the extent of the injury.  Leslie Frazier called the injury a “sprain” but it is hard to believe that more damage wasn’t done to the knee to anyone that saw the play. 
  • It was unexpected that the main contributors to a Vikings victory would be Joe Webb, Toby Gerhart, Brandon Fusco, and Mistral Raymond but that is exactly what happened this week.  With regular starters Christian Ponder, Adrian Peterson, and Steve Hutchinson sidelined by injury the Vikings experienced an all-too-familiar boost of energy with Webb at the helm.  After Ponder experienced a concussion, Webb ran the ball five times for 34 yards and a touchdown.  More importantly, he was 4 of 5 in the passing game, throwing for 84 yards and two touchdowns.  His only mistake was a mental error on a third down option play that ended up going for negative yardage and giving the Redskins a chance to win the game.  It will be interesting to see how the Vikings handle their unpolished backup continuing to semi-prove himself for the second season in a row.  It will also be interesting to see if Webb will be the starter in their final game next week.
  • After being present for all 1,049 games in Vikings history, athletic trainer Fred Zamberletti missed his first game in 51 years due to health issues.  The 79 year-old trainer called Frazier prior to the game and asked him to deliver a special message to the team, saying they should “keep on fighting and just find a way to win.”
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