Adam tells me I’m dramatic. I’m sure he’s got a point… I like to think I’m just passionate. Needless to say, I was in a foul mood today through the Vikings game. I had a feeling this was going to be a difficult team for the Vikings to beat. The primary indicator that we were in for a rough game was this stat: “The Redskins have lost 8 straight games at home.” If you’re a seasoned Vikings fan, you know what that means… Time for the Vikings to be the team allows the Redskins to break that streak. Isn’t that how it always goes? Doesn’t every team that sets some sort of record or breaks some sort of negative streak do so with the aid of Minnesota? You ever notice those old vintage videos on NFL network of some football great having their career game against…? The Vikings. Anyone else notice this? Surely I can’t be the only one…
I predicted the Vikings would win by a field goal this afternoon. But really, that was just because I’m too much of a Vikings homer to predict my team will lose.
Anyway, the Vikings fall to 4-2 today after losing pretty handily to the Washington Redskins. I’m going to dive into some of the details and annoyances of the game… But here’s a warning: don’t expect too much positivity here today. Maybe that will come later in the week… I’ll be able to be more objective – more rational. Right now, though? Now is the time for irrational, angry venting. So join me please as I further ruin your evening.
The Vikings drove the ball effortlessly in the first quarter. Eff-or-less-ly. Seriously! Adrian Peterson was breaking off huge runs. Everybody was open down field. Ponder had ages to sit in the pocket and find whatever receiver he wanted to grace with the pigskin that particular down. Somebody said on Twitter during the game (I can’t find the tweet now) that you could have gotten a Lay-z-boy for Ponder to sit in behind the offensive line in the first quarter. And it was true . There was no pressure.
But, we couldn’t capitalize. The Vikings had to settle for 9 points from those three trips to the red zone. And, again, if you’re a seasoned Vikings fan you know that not being able to get those crucial touchdowns is a recipe for disaster and will undoubtedly come back to bite us in the butt.
Blair Walsh is awesome in the red zone, no doubt. But I don’t want Blair Walsh to be awesome in the red zone. That’s because I don’t want him on the field when we are within the 20. Stay on the sideline, super kicker… We need touchdowns!
And I can’t tell you what it is yet… It is well understood that it is more difficult to move the ball, and, more specifically, throw the ball, in the red zone. But somehow, someway, we need to make it happen. The team has too many weapons to stall out after flying full-speed down the field.
I will put some of it on Musgrave, though. Today it was like he was a genius before the 20-yard line. And once we crossed that threshold he summoned his inner Brad Childress and just blew it.
Okay, where to next…? Aw, yes. Let’s talk about Percy Harvin and kick returns for a moment.
Seriously? Look, I understand that Percy Harvin is the best kick returner in the NFL. I get that… And I understand that when your team is down you are looking for anyway to jump start your squad back into contention. And one of the best ways to do that is to have #12 rocket through the opponents special teams to put six points on the board.
But (and this is a big but) Percy Harvin is by far your biggest offensive weapon right now. And he’s been limping around since the game started. Are we really going to risk not having him the rest of the game just to return kick offs? I really don’t understand it. Am I alone on this one?
If Harvin goes down during the game we essentially have no shot. Yet we’re going to put him out there on kick offs and risk him not being able to contribute the rest of the game? I just don’t get it. I mean, I guess there will be some people out there that say “You play to win the game, not to get injured.” But I’m not saying we should remove Harvin from the game… I’m just saying let’s take some of the load off of him if he’s limping every time he gets up from being tackled so he can potentially continue to contribute the rest of the game on offense.
Seems like common sense to me…
List time:
Tricked you. Not today, folks.
The cake is already dry. It sits in your mouth like dirt and just claws at the walls of your throat as you try and digest it. On top of that, this cake has two revolting, stomach churning layers of icing. Here they are:
Layer #1 – RGIII On The Bench
Guess who’s fantasy team has Robert Griffin III?! Guess who’s team had Robert Griffin III on their bench?! Of course I did! Why would I play the #1 fantasy scorer against the Vikings stout defense a week after he suffered a concussion that left him unable to tell you what state he was in?
Because he scored 34 points, that’s why!
Layer #2 – Vegas
I had a five team ticket that was looking amazing today. With the Giants beating the 49ers and the Patriots looking like they were going to cover against the Seahawks, all I needed was for the Vikings to win and I would be $600 dollars more wealthy. The fact that the Vikings were going to cost me my ticket had me absolutely livid. I usually don’t like to bet on the Vikings because, well, it’s just silly to… But this week, the fact that the Vikings were being given points was just too good to pass up.
Luckily for my television, the Patriots blew it against the Seahawks and I can blame my loss on them. Otherwise, this household would have been one 40-inch Samsung television short for next week’s game.
Oh yeah… The Packers are beating the Texans. Have a wonderful night…
-Angry Brett
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Toby Gerhart didn't fumble.
Well there you go! That's one each, grade A certifiable moral victory right there.
Tonight, we drink wine from the skulls of...no Gerhart fumbles. Skol.
I feel your pain Brett. Other than having to settle for field goals, the first quarter and a half, we looked like this was going to be easy. I agree about Harvin returning kickoffs. The only thing I hope is thsat it wasn't a serious injury. I saw a sideline shot of Harvin and he had what looked like a pretty good gash on his knee. So maybe it was just a cut and that's why they left him in.
I think most teams are going to have about the same problems we had containing RG3. Doesn't make me feel any better about that killing 78 yard run but he'll probably do that again and against better teams.
And guess who had RG3 on his FF team and TRADED him last week after his concussion?
At least I got Brady for him. . .
Houston just scored a TD, so feel better my friend.
When you kick field goals in the redzone, you lose games. I was livid when they had to settle for fg's on those first three drives. You score two TD's there and the Redskins option run crap goes out the window. They kept them in the game early and that killed them. I disagree about Percy returning kicks. As you said, he's one of the few playmakers we have and returning kicks is an easy way to get the ball in his hands to make a play...especially when your offense goes completely stagnant after early success. This is the type of game that just kills you as a fan. The win in Washington last year caused us to lose that 2nd overall draft pick and a lot of options. You watch RGIII tear it up and Ponder has one of those up and down type performances today...I don't know, obviously you can't change the past but losing to this team seems like a step back to me right now. Hopefully they rebound next week and this doesn't start a big losing streak that could snow ball.
Its the NFL, guys. Certain matchups, play calls, officials calls, etc. Patriots, Steelers, 49ers, Eagles, all lickin their wounds tonite along with the Vikes. But I'll say this. If Griffen keeps doing that little fairy dance of his, he's a goned more than a bandage on his chin.
(gonna need) Looks like you can add the Texans to that list.
Our rookies had some rookie moments today. That's gonna happen. These guys are having a good start to the year, lets not throw them off the boat as a result of today's game. I'll say it right now... They'll beat the Cardinals next week.
Griffin 3 is not that good, he is not going to last very long.
couldn't watch the game today. learned that we lost on the drive home tonight while listening to the phackers game. baaaarrrrrfff!!!!!
Vikings didn't necessarily get out played, they got out coached.
Shanahan made adjustments to the Vikings D, Musgrave didn't counter. Why the heck didn't he try a draw or something to offset the pass rush?
RGIII - he looked great today. Don't see him as a long term NFL QB, he's gonna get killed.
Not so sure about that, Ole. Fourteen Redskin points directly from two turnovers. Pretty hard to do enough coaching to overcome that... and we almost did anyway.
I had an ex-girlfriend who once left the house to go playing golf with her dad. A couple hours later, she came back in tears because she accidentally line drived a shot and it hit one of those pond ducks in the head, and knocked one of it's eyeballs almost all of the way out. I guess it was pretty much mostly on it's way to death, kind of flipping around in circles with an eyeball sort of dangling from it's head.
While she was relating this story to me (again, in tears), I got the giggles. She was pissed and distraught, and I couldn't quit giggling.
Tonight, we are either the duck, or my ex-girlfriend...I'm not sure which.
But, with time, we can become an insensitive Tomb and laugh once again.
Was it a hook, a slice, or just poor alignment? Had a buddy with a slice that drove him to tears. Turned out to be a problem with his grip.
Not all that surprised at this outcome. At the start of the season we would have been quite happy with 4-2 and two winnable games at home coming up.
Have to agree with ya on 4-2 coach. Really can see them beating the Cards and Bucs. It was still tough, but they are going to have growing pains.
Enjoyed the Cowboys losing to the Ravens...