After a few fairly obvious choices in recent weeks, the Vikings edged out a win over Washington with many contributors and few flawless performances, which will likely make this week’s poll a little more competitive.
Here are the winners from the first eight weeks of this season:
Past Winners:
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
Nominations for this week’s award, and the poll itself, can be found after the jump.
MATT ASIATA: I’m plenty guilty of finding little to like about Asiata’s running game, I’ve called him a “one trick pony,” but if that trick is scoring touchdowns then I guess there are worse things to complain about. Asaita only averaged 2.6 yards on his 10 carries (26 yards total), but his three touchdowns and two-point conversion accounted for a majority of Minnesota’s points. On top of that, he added four catches for 31 yards.
CHASE FORD: Greg Jennings led Minnesota in receiving yards, but it was Ford that appeared to be Teddy Bridgewater’s safety valve on Sunday, catching five passes for 66 yards and a score. Ford’s wide open touchdown was a much needed stroke of good luck at exactly the right time.
EVERSON GRIFFEN: The days of mobile quarterbacks shredding Minnesota’s defense appear to be nearing an end. Griffen showed maturity that Jared Allen still doesn’t show when it came to staying home and containing RGIII’s running ability. Griffen added another sack to his already impressive total and ended the day with six tackles, two for a loss, and three quarterback hits.
SHARRIF FLOYD: While his stat line will not fully depict the impact he had on this game, Floyd stood out to anyone watching with a consistently high level of play coupled with a few moments of brilliance. He was in on five tackles, was credited with half a sack, and hit RGIII on two occasions.
ANTHONY BARR: Last week’s winner again put together an impressive performance and could use the second half of this season to draw serious consideration for defensive player of the year. He ended the day with four solo tackles, two for a loss, and a sack that looked like it sucked the confidence right out of RGIII if even for just a moment.
OTHER: Some will argue that Bridgewater’s performance deserves more credit. Others will say this game is another loss without Captain Munnerlyn’s opportunistic interception right before halftime. You might even look at this offensive line and find a guy you think is worthy. Marcus Sherels had a couple of nice special teams tackles. Even Rhett Ellison could be considered. I think the guys listed above were the top contributors to this win, mostly due to the big plays they produced, but you don’t have to agree with me. Click the “other” button and let us know which player your vote is for in the comments section below.
Bridgewater should clearly be one of the nominees–he of course missed on some big plays, but he also kept the Vikings in the game and got the job done when it counted.
B-Water. No turn overs, not getting ‘rattled’ sticking with what he needs to do and being a leader. The kids got a little too excited on that deep ball, both of them. Was sort of cute, now that we won, seeing them be so surprised how open that play was. I think it will come together sooner than later. SKOL!
I was going to vote for Bridgewater for leading us down the field for two scores to give us the lead. I thought he’d be an obvious nominee, but whatever. My vote is for Bridgewater.
Matt Asiata… “You need three yards, he’ll get you three yards. You need eight yards, he’ll get you three yards.”
I voted for Everson for the pressure on his cousin Robert.
I laughed
WOW SKol your Kalil was horrible again today.
I’ll admit I didn’t see the second half did he have a bad finish? I was liking how well he picked up the blitz in the first. I only saw two pressures allowed by him, the first he had three defenders rush him and the other he let a guy inside expecting Johnson to be there but Charlie was(I’m assuming here) too busy checking out a girl in the stands.
You thought Kalil looked good in the first half? What game were u watching, or how much were u drinking?
I think Skol is Kalil in disguise!
Bridgewater.
TEDDY! That is all…
Teddy B
Even tho you didn’t list him Adam, I had to go with Teddy.
He had a fairly bad start, a couple of under and over throws. That one to a wide open Patterson might have really shook him up but didn’t. Player of the Game.
The amount of time it’s taking Teddy to get control of his accuracy is troubling. If he hits those first two deep balls we’re up 14-3 in the first quarter and that puts Washington in a difficult position. Seems like the wind may have been more of a factor than I realized when I was swearing at my TV, but even some of his early completions were making receivers make acrobatic catches. His decision making has been really good though, so I’m optimistic he will continue to get better. Hard to pick an MVP for this one as several guys had big moments. I’m really liking what I’m seeing from Griffen, Shariff, and Barr. All three can be dominant at times and you add Harrison Smiths steady play and there is a lot to be excited about regarding the present and future of this defense. Asiata probably gets the nod for today, can’t win without the points and he did what he needed to to get into the end zone. I’m still perplexed by the Fox networks coverage of him like it was the first time he ever saw the football field.
Teddy plays much better when they play no huddle or sped up offence. I wish Turner would do this more.
Jeff Dugan
His stats for today only
0 carries for zero yards
0 Catches for zero yards
0 Tackles (the Ref’s were spared today)
Cured 120,000 victims of Ebola in the Canary Islands
Don’t forget he had 0 fumbles and 0 penalties. Also allowed 0 qb pressures And 0 sacks.
I voter Other………….. TEDDY
^Voted
Other: Harrison Smith, always there he should be, except that the ref’s shafted him
he played a really good game!
A lot of solid performances by athletic players, but it was Teddy’s cool demeanor that kept everything together. The “Hey, Chase- go deep…”- finger wave was the best play of the game, IMO. I’ve been waiting decades to see a QB with that level of calm control!
He is Mr. Cool, isn’t he? If h can settle down early in the game and get those long balls on the money, he’ll become a very good QB.
Looks like you can blame one of the long throws on Patterson;
https://vine.co/v/OOHqrHlWrKD
Teddy! Player of the Game!
I think John Sullivan could grab some attention. Sharrif was my vote.
If Teddy can get balls deep more accurately he’ll be a fine QB!
in between scaling mount saint helen several times yesterday, i was only able to watch a bit of the second half and then the finish, and it looks like a good, all around win for the team with no stand-out player of the game, however, looking at the stat sheet for the game, what stood out was that i saw smith had ten tackles, but still, no vote, i don’t deserve a vote
Smith played a great game…as he usually does.
Next time do that scaling on a Saturday.
You missed a good one from Teddy.
no choice, cc
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20140523/glen-helen-hill-climb-iconic-figure-among-motocross-riders
I think Patterson lost the ball in the sun. It also didn’t look like CP was full speed. If he sees it I think he’s under that ball in stride.
Agree, that one is on CP as much as Teddy.
First of all, what in the hell is Bridgewater doing carrying the ball on 3rd and 3, to seal the game? Come on Norm! What’s wrong with lining up in a power I? Not a fan of the pistol in that situation.
But Mike Zimmer is a great defensive tactician. There is no other explanation. What are we, 8th in total D? There’s been 3 new players from last year, maybe 4? Barr makes a big difference tho…Griffen is a freak. Floyd is showing signs…The DB’s are looking solid.
Then of course there’s Teddy…man this dude is great. Did anyone see him point open Ford on that TD? That was cool. Not too worried about the long misses, he seems like the kind of kid that will get better at that. Sully said, “What he has…you can’t teach.” It’s very early in his career but so far…