Dear Brad Childress,

At one point of today's Vikings' game, a game that my Beloved Purple lost by a final score of 18-15, I honestly thought that the mighty Peyton Manning and company were going to come into our building and leave with a loss.  I believe it was right after Ryan Longwell hit his fifth field goal of the afternoon, one that came from 28 yards out to make the score 15-0 in favor of the Vikings.

Yes, at that point, I thought that the Vikings were going to come out victorious and avoid the dreaded 0-2 start.

And then, the folks at CBS made the mistake of showing a shot of you on the sidelines.

It was at THAT point that I knew we were screwed.

See, prior to that point, the Vikings' defense had held Manning and Harrison and Wayne and Addai to zero points in 40+ minutes of football.  It was the first time that the Colts had been shut out through the first half in almost two calendar years.  He was harrassed, he was throwing interceptions, he was getting sacked, the crowd was electrified.  At that point, Harrison and Wayne had a combined ONE catch for FOUR yards.  Joseph Addai had NEGATIVE rushing yards.

But I knew that somehow. . .some way. . .that you, Brad Childress, creator of the prevent offense and master of losing close games in situations where you clearly should not, would find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory this afternoon.  And, clearly, you did not let me down.

Were you really so naive or arrogant (or both) enough to think that the Minnesota defense, as good as it is, was going to be able to stop Peyton Manning for an entire game?  Did you really think that you could keep sending Ryan Longwell out there on possession after possession and have that be good enough to beat a team the caliber of the Indianapolis Colts?  Did you think for one second that when you got the ball back on your own 2-yard line with less than two minutes left and Indianapolis having all three of their time outs that you could NOT EVEN MAKE AN EFFORT TO GET A FIRST DOWN and be able to just coast into overtime?

See, Mr. Childress, anyone that's watched the Vikings for any amount of time over the last 2+ years knows that these are the kind of games that you excel at losing.  In this, your third season as the Vikings' head coach, you've been on the sidelines for 34 games. . .14 victories and 20 losses.  Of those 20 losses, 13 of them have been by seven points or fewer, and in the majority of those games, the Vikings have had an opportunity to either tie or take the lead in the closing minutes.  And they have not. . .and that's, largely, because of you.

I have never, ever, in my life seen a more unimaginative and more uncreative offense than the offense that I've seen from the Minnesota Vikings over your tenure as head coach.  I think that a half a dozen of my readers, armed with nothing more than a copy of Madden '09, a case of Mountain Dew, and a few large pizzas, could put together a far more creative and far more coherent offensive game plan than what we've seen for the last 2+ years.  Hell, Dan Dierdorf was calling the plays in the CBS booth before the ball was being snapped. . .and he was nailing it EVERY. . .SINGLE. . .TIME.  If he knows what's coming, don't you think that everyone on the other sideline knows what's coming, too?

As of today, Adrian Peterson is on pace for 2,152 rushing yards. . .and 8 touchdowns.  The fact that that guy can do anything in THIS offense is a testament to his unbelievable ability and talent, and it frightens me to think about what the guy would be capable of in an offense that could put up points in the Big Ten Conference, never mind the National Football League.  I guess that there are some things that not even you are capable of screwing up.  Lord knows that you've probably tried, but you haven't managed to do so yet.

Now, I'm sure that you're of the understanding that many people will attempt to place the blame for the offensive ineptitude at the feet of your quarterback, third-year player Tarvaris Jackson.  And I'll admit that Jackson has had his struggles as a starting quarterback.  He's immensely talented, but for some reason just doesn't seem to "have everything together."  At least, that's how I'm sure it would look to an outsider.  But how, exactly, do you expect the guy to "get it" with the way you run an offense?

In the season opener in Green Bay, the Vikings threw 7. . .SEVEN. . .passes in the first half.  How in the heck is a quarterback supposed to develop any sort of rhythm when he only throws the ball seven times in one half of play?  In today's game, young Jackson threw just nine passes in the first half, completing five, including two beauties at the end of the half to get the Vikings into position for. . .you guessed it. . .another field goal.

In addition to that, there is no "mid-range" passing game in this offense.  At least, that's the impression I'm under.  Every pass that you allow Jackson to throw is either a 3-yarder or an attempt at a 50-yarder.  There's nothing in between.  How on earth do you expect anyone to develop any sort of rhythm or rapport with their receivers if you're constantly expecting them to throw low percentage passes?

Oh, and do you think we could maybe mix in a play-action pass occasionally?  I don't mean the type of play-action passes that you're used to, where our QBs and our RBs get within 4 yards of each other and try to make people think that anyone's going to buy that sort of crap.  I mean a real, honest-to-goodness play-action pass.  You'd think that with a running game that you haven't managed to screw up yet that this would be the foundation of our passing game, but it doesn't appear as though that's the case.  It should be.

Finally, it's not just Tarvaris Jackson.  Since you took over in Minnesota, Mr. Childress, there have been four different quarterbacks in charge of your alleged "kick-ass offense". . .Brad Johnson, Brooks Bollinger, Kelly Holcomb, and Tarvaris Jackson.  And you know what I've noticed?  They've ALL looked AWFUL.  Even WITH the immense talents of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor behind them. . .even WITH an outstanding offensive line in front of them.  They've all looked terrible within the confines of your offense.

Most coaches tailor their offense to fit their personnel.  You seem to be hell-bent on doing exactly the opposite.

And that's why I, alone in my thought process though I may be, refuse to throw Tarvaris Jackson under the proverbial bus at this point in time.  It's clear that Jackson has talent. . .he's mobile, he's got a strong arm, and he appears to be a relatively bright guy.  All of that stuff leads me to ask myself how much better he could be if he wasn't hamstrung by one of the most inept offenses I've ever had the displeasure to witness.  Let the guy loose and let him make plays.  We heard all off-season about his improvement and his progress. . .let him prove it on the field.

Don't get me wrong, Mr. Childress. . .I love my team.  I always have.  It's been a 25-year love affair with myself and the Minnesota Vikings, and even your ineptitude isn't going to be enough to change that.  Therein lies the only small joy that I can derive from this.  Either things will change and the team will get things turned around. . .or you'll continue to waste the immense talent that you've been surrounded with over your time in Minnesota, and you'll be standing in the unemployment line shortly after Week 17.  In any event, it's a win-win situation for the Minnesota Vikings and their fans.

Mike Tice was fired by Zygi Wilf, and he accomplished far, far more with far, far less than you've been given in your time as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.  At this point, I would be more than happy to welcome ol' Meathead and his pencil back to the Minnesota sidelines in your stead.

Please. . .for the sake of everybody's sanity. . .get this together and pointed in the right direction.

Sincerely,
Christopher Gates
Head Blogger, DailyNorseman.com and lifelong Minnesota Viking fan

You've got to be kidding me with this garbage.  This is why they're the Colts and we're the Vikings.

There probably isn't going to be anything further here on the site today.  I'm in absolutely, positively no mood to discuss this crap right now.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (0-1)	GAME #2	MINNESOTA VIKINGS (0-1)
	@

Thanks to the folks at Windy City Gridiron for the fancy pre-game formatting thing there.

First off, I'd like to thank the Stampede Blue community for being outstanding guests and gracious hosts throughout the course of the week.  I have a great deal of respect for the Colts as a franchise, and their fans are a direct reflection of their team.

After six excruciating days of waiting, the Vikings' chance for redemption has finally arrived.  I'm hoping that this doesn't turn into the blowout that it very easily COULD turn into.

The biggest keys to this game will be the pass rush. . .both the Vikings generating their own and stopping that of Indianapolis.  I have a feeling that we're in for a big game from Adrian Peterson today. . .the Colts simply have too much turmoil going on within their front seven for anyone to have a ton of confidence in them at this point.  But whoever starts at left tackle today is going to absolutely, positively have to keep Colts' DE Dwight Freeney away from Tarvaris Jackson, ideally with a minimal amount of help from backs and tight ends.  I wouldn't be surprised if the Colts showed a lot of blitz today, too, and it will be up to Tarvaris Jackson to take advantage and make the Colts pay for that.  With the kind of game I anticipate from Peterson today, the play-action passing game should be a huge part of the offense today.

Defensively, the Vikings have to find a way to get to Peyton Manning.  I think he's still got some of the rust he showed last week against Chicago, and the Vikings need to get pressure on him however they can, whether it's via the blitz or if the front four can get it done themselves against the Colts' weakened offensive line.  With the possible absence (and certain limitations) of TE Dallas Clark today, the Colts are probably going to go with a lot of three WR sets with Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Anthony Gonzalez.

I have the feeling that this is going to be an interesting game.  Is my selection of the Vikings to win today simply optimism run rampant, or will I be proven correct?  We'll start learning here in about an hour and a half.

Discuss anything and everything about the game here, folks!

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS.

I apologize for the lateness of the hour of this update, everyone.  It's been a long day over here at the Gonzo house, and I've had about a thousand different things to do prior to getting around to this.

So, here are the official injury reports for tomorrow's game.  We'll start with the visiting Indianapolis Colts.

It's going to be quite interesting to see what the Colts try to do with Saturday on Sunday.  (And don't act like you didn't know that line was coming.)  The Colts have a relatively early bye (Week 4), and even with as bad as the Colts' line looked in their opener, I don't know why on earth you'd risk a guy so valuable when you can, essentially, give him three more full weeks off before throwing him out there.  His injury was rumored to be a 5-6 week recovery, and if he goes out there tomorrow against the law firm of Williams & Williams, he'll be out there WAY ahead of that.

If you'll recall my interview with BigBlueShoe from over at Stampede Blue, he said that Tamme was going to be one of the Colts' players to watch on Sunday in the potential absence of Dallas Clark.  Well, now we know that Tamme is going to be absent as well, leaving the Colts with Gijon Robinson and rookie Tom Santi at the TE position.  With that being the case, I'd expect to see a lot of 3 WR sets from the Colts in this one, which should only enhance Minnesota's ability to slow down the running game and focus on the pass.

Now for the Beloved Purple:

Williams will, hopefully, be back by the time the Vikings travel to Tennessee in Week 4.  I don't think Tyrell Johnson played badly against the Packers, but it sure will be nice to see what we're paying for with #20 back there with Darren Sharper.  The play of the safeties will be key this week in our attempts to slow down Peyton Manning and the Colts' passing game.

If Hicks can't go, I believe we'll be seeing Marcus Johnson get his first career start at LT, and he gets the relatively simple task of taking on Dwight Freeney.  Wait, did I say "simple?"  What I meant was, "Look out, Tarvaris!"  Then again, for a guy with zero game experience at the position, Johnson actually did a serviceable job on Monday night, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Alright, folks. . .kickoff is set for about 14 hours from now.  Channel all your thoughts into a big performance for the Beloved Purple, because that's exactly what they're going to need tomorrow to avoid an 0-2 start.  Until then, enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Alrighty, ladies and gentlemen. . .after a bit of a delay, I've gotten the responses to my questions for BigBlueShoe, our Indianapolis Colts blogger from Stampede Blue.  He's already been over here answering a few questions about his team, which is great, but he are his answers to the questions I sent him the other day.  Enjoy!

Gonzo:  The big story coming out of Indy over the last day or two has been the arrest, and subsequent release, of DT Ed Johnson.  For those of us that aren't familiar with him, tell us exactly what his loss means to the Colts' defense.

BigBlueShoe:  Well, I'm not quite sure to be honest with you. Ed Johnson was really the anchor for the interior of the defensive line, replacing Anthony McFarland, who blew out his knee in training camp last year. Big Ed had a very troubled college career at Penn State. Despite his tremendous talent out of college, he went undrafted. The Colts took a chance on him, and he seemed to turn his life around in 2007. Players like McFarland (on injured reserve) took Ed under their wing and tutored him. He had a great season last year, and was picked as a potential breakout player inn 2008.

However, I find it very hard to believe that arguably the greatest talent evaluator of his generation (Bill Polian) would just up and cut his best interior d-lineman without having a plan. Say what you will about Big Ed's talent, but after a blow out loss against a medicore Bears team to open your club's brand new stadium, what did Ed Johnson do immediately afterwards? Did he get mad? Hit the weight room? Watch extra tape? Call a meeting and challenge his mates? No. He got high and got arrested.

That's not how professional football players are to conduct thmeselves in this organization.

Character means something, and adversity can reveal character. Cutting Big Ed sent a message to the rest of the team, and I think that message was received. So, when I say I don't know, the reason I don't is because I need to see how they respond against your Vikings after the fallout of last weekend's debacle and the Ed Johnson fiasco.

G:  We know all the big names on the Colts. . .Manning, Harrison, Wayne, etc.  Who's a guy that not a lot of folks know about that will have a huge impact on this Sunday's game?

BBS:  Two guys: Jacob Tamme and Gijon Robinson. Both play TE and H-Back in Indy's system, and if Dallas Clark cannot play, look for them to get involved in the passing game. Tamme is a Dallas Clark clone, while Robinson is more FB than TE.

G:  Peyton Manning didn't see any action at all this pre-season, and the rust was evident in the Colts' season opener against Chicago.  How long do you anticipate it will take the NFL's best quarterback to get back to his old form?

BBS:  This Sunday. No, I'm not kidding. Peyton is very upset over the Week One loss, and you know he'll be working like a mad dog this week to prepare for Minnesota. I'm looking for a big game from Peyton. When he gets mad, he drops 400 yards and 5 TDs on people. This is not a slight to Minnesota's defense, because I think they are good. I think Peyton has a pretty good idea of how Minnesota will attack Indy's o-line, and he is working this week to counter-attack against that.

G:  After getting gashed for 183 yards by Matt Forte and Kevin Jones last Sunday, what changes do you anticipate the Colts making in preparation for what might be the best 1-2 running back combo in the National Football League?
 
BBS:  The Colts won't change anything. They don't do that. They won't re-scheme things just to stop Adrian Peterson and the Vikes awesome running game. They will go back and re-work on execution. There's nothing wrong with Indy's scheme. That's been proven time and time again. Players need to execute better, and Tony Dungy will go back and fine tune their execution. History is on Indy's side with this, for what it is worth. Whenever teams do well running one week, the Colts have a knack for fine tuning themselves, coming in the next week, and stoning the opponent's offense.

G:  What do you feel the Colts need to do this Sunday to leave the Metrodome with a victory?
 
BBS:  Obviously, Minnesota's running attack must be destroyed. Not stopped. Not kinda slowed down. Peterson, Taylor, and the other backs  must be hit, knocked back, and stoned at the LOS. Tarvaris Jackson must then be forced to throw the ball. Key to this strategy is the Colts offense controlling the game, scoring TDs in the red zone and getting an early lead. If Jackson is forced to throw, and the running game obliterated, he will committ turnovers. And things will snowball from there. This will not be easy, but it is the tried and true strategy the Colts have used for years. Peyton Manning should be more comfortable, and he will likely stress the importance of running the ball. Minnesota will attack Indy's interior offensive and defensive lines, and it is up to the players in those positions to respond. Hook the chin strap and earn your six figures, or you're gone. that was the message sent this week.

We will see who responds. Look for big days from Manning, Sanders, and possibly Tamme. It should be a great game all-around, because both these teams are good.

Thanks to BigBlueShoe for taking the time to answer these questions, and be sure to keep checking out Stampede Blue over the course of the next couple of days as we lead up to what should be the best game on the Week 2 schedule.

Even though we're in the wake of the less intelligent among us declaring the NFC North race over after all of one game's worth of action, those of us that dwell in the realm of reality are moving on to this Sunday's home opener for the Beloved Purple, and it's a game that should be much more interesting than what I thought it would be when the schedule first came out.

A couple of months ago, people might have called this game between the Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts a potential Super Bowl preview.  After the happenings of Week 1, it's now a battle of two teams that are attempting to avoid an 0-2 start.  For the Colts. . .and this is a pretty amazing number, in my opinion, and really speaks to their consistency over the past few years. . .this is the earliest they've had a loss on their schedule since 2004.  In 2005, they started the season 13-0, they won their first 9 games of 2006, and started off 7-0 in 2007.

I've had this game down as a loss since the schedules came out this spring, and really, I haven't heard a lot of folks that would disagree.  But given the past few days, now I'm not entirely sure what to make of this thing.  Why do I ask if we're catching the Colts at the right time?  Well, a few reasons, actually. . .

-Jeff Saturday, who might be the most underrated center in football and certainly ranks among the league's best at the position, is out with an injury for the Colts. . .and, as a result, the interior of their offensive line looked VERY weak against the Bears.  Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, and E.J. Henderson have to be salivating a bit over that.  Saturday, apparently, IS practicing, but it doesn't appear as though he'll be at full speed if he's able to go at all.
-Staying with the Bears game, Chicago. . .with an offense that nobody was mistaking for the '98 Vikings or the 2000 Rams prior to the season. . .ripped the Colts on the ground for a total of 183 rushing yards.  Rookie Matt Forte put up 123 yards and a TD on 23 carries, and Detroit castoff Kevin Jones chipped in 45 yards of his own.  And NOW the Colts have suspended their best interior defensive lineman, DT Ed Johnson, after he was arrested this morning for possession of marijuana, among other things.  Think Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor are happy?
-And, since tight ends have a bit of a history of killing the Vikings on defense, it helps that the Colts' outstanding tight end, Dallas Clark, got a bit banged up against Chicago.  It sounds like he's going to play, but he might not be 100%.

Now, I'm not going to include the fact that Peyton Manning and the Colts' offense didn't look outstanding against Chicago as part of that list.  Why?  Because he's Peyton freaking Manning, that's why.  Yes, he's got a bit of rust since he didn't play at all in the pre-season, but he's still got three or four outstanding targets to throw to in Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Anthony Gonzalez (and Clark, depending on his health), and the Colts have a good, young running back in Joseph Addai.

I've got all the respect in the world for Tony Dungy.  If he's not the best coach in the NFL, he's somewhere in the Top 2, and I'm sure he'll have the Colts ready for this Sunday's clash.  I know that Brad Childress has as much chance of outcoaching Dungy as there is of me changing my last name to Ocho Gonzo.  But when I see the setup for this game and the focus, I can't help but get a feeling of deja vu. . .it's similar to the way I felt going into the San Diego game last season.  The Vikings are at home, coming off of a tough loss, hosting a team with superior talent that's having its own struggles, with a consensus that said struggling team was going to "get themselves right" against our Beloved Purple.

We all remember what happened that afternoon, right?

It would be nice to get ourselves a little bit of that same thing on Sunday afternoon.  No, starting off 0-2 wouldn't be the end of the world or anything like that, but getting back to the .500 mark would certainly be a whole lot better.

BigBlueShoe over at Stampede Blue and I will be doing this year's first installment of "5 Good Questions" over the course of the next day or two.  Feel free to visit the folks over there, but please play nice.  I've already asked them nicely to not lower themselves to the level of the kind of idiots that think referring to this team by names other than the Vikings is some sort of good, intelligent idea.  (Yeah, Wisconsin, I'm looking at you. . .and I don't know why you're giggling, Illinois.)  They seem to be willing to oblige us on that front.

That's all for now, folks. . .have a good rest of your Wednesday, and we'll see you back here tomorrow!

EDIT/UPDATE:  Well, I can tell you exactly how long the Colts will suspend Ed Johnson for.  Permanently.  And by "suspend," what I mean is "Ed Johnson got cut by the Colts today."