There were a handful of positive individual performances on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Bears and, as a team, the Vikings played very poorly. The team came out of their bye week very flat, with deficiencies on both sides of the ball, and the rest of the 2014 schedule will tear them apart of they don’t get better.
The past winners of the “Player of the Week” votes are:
WEEK ONE: Cordarrelle Patterson
WEEK TWO: Harrison Smith
WEEK THREE: Harrison Smith
WEEK FOUR: Teddy Bridgewater
WEEK FIVE: Harrison Smith
WEEK SIX: Linval Joseph
WEEK SEVEN: Everson Griffen
WEEK EIGHT: Anthony Barr
WEEK NINE: Everson Griffen
The nominations are a bit underwhelming this week, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. If you think I missed someone worthy of the nod then please feel free to hit the “other” button and leave your write-in vote in the comments section.
The nominations are…
ANDREW SENDEJO: The Vikings leading rusher on Sunday was their backup safety. Let that gel for a minute. Sendejo was the beneficiary of a well-designed fake punt where he dashed for 48 yards and set up an easy touchdown for Teddy Bridgewater and Rhett Ellison. Sendejo also had two nice stops on the coverage unit which gave him a pretty solid overall day.
CHARLES JOHNSON: For as frustrating as it has become to see Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson become nearly invisible, it is encouraging to see a new and young talent emerging in this passing game. Johnson led the receivers in both catches (6) and yards (87) and it is clear he has developed some chemistry with Bridgewater.
SHARRIF FLOYD: Not much about the way our front seven played on Sunday was exciting. It was really disappointing, actually, considering how they were progressing prior to the bye week. To me, Floyd stood out among them, however, and he flashed some of that great athleticism on his way to five tackles (one for a loss).
EVERSON GRIFFEN: He didn’t add to his impressive sack numbers this week, but he still had a nice performance throughout the day, as noted by PFF‘s grade for the week, who credited him with five quarterback pressures. He only ended up with two tackles on the day, but the pass rush was there, and he had a batted pass at the line of scrimmage that reminded me of Kevin Williams.
HARRISON SMITH: The defense gave the Vikings a chance at another comeback when Harrison Smith snagged an interception and returned it 52 yards. Despite being placed in an ideal situation, though, the offense could not capitalize and the end result was depressing. In addition to his big play, Smith added three tackles.
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other: rusty hardin
The Bears clock operator.
Player of the game, Harrison Smith. My vote Andrew Sendejo. Gotta give the underdog some credit once in a while.
I had to pick 'other.'
I choose the entire team and coaching staff.
With that game last week, ALL those guys moved us closer to an early first round draft pick next year!
WAY TO GO TEAM!
Looking at the list through nine weeks should give great optimism to all Vikes fans.
That's a good point Fozz, especially when you read the names of the defensive players on that list.
I do believe our defense will continue to get better and could very well develop into one of the leagues best in a year or two. Factor in our coach and it's almost assured.
Now, if we can only get our hands on a OT, WR and a Franchise QB (Is that YOU, Teddy??), we could go places. . .
Just heard Vikes have picked up Ben Tate
My thoughts were exactly the same as SKOL.Harry deserved it but Sendejo made a great play and doesn't get many opportunities.Plus I like Sendejo as a player.Also agree with FOZZ & FRAN,although we have thrown a couple games down the toilet,overall the team is coming along well and showing signs of eventually maturing into a solid group.They are still young,and considering the holes we had to fill in the off season we are doing better than most people expected.
We have picked up Ben Tate so will have a chance to evaluate him and if it works out could save a draft pick.