Well, in the last 24 hours or so, we've learned that we've got a spineless moron for a head coach.  Actually, we covered spineless yesterday, and at today's press conference, we got the moron part covered, too.  When asked at his press conference today why he chose to punt the ball away on 4th and 13 with no time outs and about 2:30 left on the clock, Brad Childress gave the following answer, verbatim:

"Based on the way we were playing defense, I thought we’d have a chance to get it back."

What. . .in the blue hell. . .are you talking about?  You thought you were going to get the ball back?  How?  Did you think that the Titans were going to fumble the ball DURING THE KNEELDOWN!?  Good lord, just because a team coached by you is capable of something that stupid doesn't mean that a team with even an iota of discipline is capable of the same thing.

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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."

Yes, I know exactly what you're thinking, because I thought it for a while last night myself.

Nine months of preparation. . .millions of dollars spent. . .an off-season of lies perpetuated by the Green Bay front office and placed at our doorstep. . .and the Vikings go out and put up a performance like THAT!?

But there are some important things to remember here.  By the end of last night's game, the Vikings were down to their third-string left tackle.  When you get down to the #3 guy on the depth chart at any position, the result is usually going to be less than optimal, but I thought that Marcus Johnson actually held up pretty well at a spot that, I'm assuming, he hasn't gotten a heck of a lot of snaps at.  I'm not sure how severe the injury to Artis Hicks' elbow is, but whoever starts at LT this coming Sunday is going to have to deal with Dwight Freeney, so this is something that needs to be resolved sooner rather than later.

The most important thing to keep in mind here is that this is, still, just one game.  Yes, it hurts worse and sucks more because it was a loss to Green Bay.  But there are still 15 more of these to go this season, and I have a feeling that things will be getting better the rest of the way.  Having my theory proven true hinges on the abilities of one man.

Brad Childress.

As of this moment, I've given up trying to figure out how Brad Childress constructs his offensive game plans.  The first half of last night's game was one of the single worst first halves of football I've ever seen.  Tarvaris Jackson had 7. . .yes, SEVEN. . .pass attempts in the entire first half, and only completed two for 16 yards.  Yes, we have Adrian Peterson at our disposal, and he was his usual God-like self last night, given the circumstances. . .but during the pre-season, we saw an improvement in Jackson's play.  Brad Childress told us all off-season about how Jackson had improved and was going to be a big surprise this year.

And then you go out in the first half and give him, basically, zero opportunities to make plays.

When I posted the injury report on Friday, I suggested that the Vikings would be wise to get Peterson and Chester Taylor out on the edges, as well as roll out Tarvaris Jackson frequently in an effort to get Green Bay's ailing defensive line to chase him around and wear themselves out.  Did we run a single time to the outside last night?  Was there a toss or a sweep play to be found anywhere?  If there was, I don't recall it.  When you have Steve Hutchinson and Matt Birk, two of the premiere "pulling" players at their positions, at your disposal, you should be running towards the edges a lot. . .and, for some reason, the Vikings seem to be content to just keep slamming people into the middle of the line repeatedly.

The offensive game plan simply MUST be more creative from this point forward if the Vikings are to reach the potential that we all know they have.  Granted, the absence of Bryant McKinnie plays a big part in that, but even with Hicks or Johnson out there at the LT spot, the Vikings need to start doing some different things with Jackson and with the best RB combo in football.

And yet, despite all of that and despite Brad Childress' terrible first half playcalling, the Minnesota offense outscored Green Bay's offense.  They actually outgained the Packers in net yardage, 355-317.  The Vikings had more first downs than Green Bay did (21-15).  Both teams were right around 40% on third-down conversions.  Tarvaris Jackson and Aaron Rodgers both had 178 passing yards and 1 passing TD.  (Granted, Rodgers looked far more efficient in doing so.)  It was truly a tale of two halves for Minnesota.  After letting the Packers win the time of possession battle in the first half, the Vikings had possession for a longer time in the third quarter than they did in the entire first half (12:08 TOP for the Vikings in the first half, 12:42 TOP in the third quarter).  There was a point in the second half where the Vikings had run 29 offensive plays to Green Bay's 3.

As is the case in the National Football League, one or two plays made the difference in this football game.  A few examples of such plays?

How's about back in the first quarter where the Packers' faced 3rd and 13 and ran a draw play to Brandon Jackson.  Jackson fumbled the ball forward, and it looked like numerous Vikings had a shot at recovering the football. . .but at the end of the play, Greg Jennings recovered for Green Bay on the other side of the first-down line, and the Packers kept possession.  A recovery there for Minnesota would have set them up at around the Packers' 30-yard line, and they likely could have gotten at least a field goal out of something like that.

The killer, of course, was Will Blackmon's 76-yard punt return in the third quarter.  That was a combination of a bad, line drive kick by Chris Kluwe and pretty terrible overall coverage by the Vikings' special teams.  Big returns will happen, of course, but usually Kluwe has significantly more hang time on his punts than he had one the one Blackmon took back.  Hopefully this won't become a trend over the course of the season.

Speaking of special teams, how much different could things have been had the Vikings recovered what was a perfectly acceptable onside kick by Ryan Longwell?  Granted, they got the ball back anyway, but if they could have set up shop in Green Bay territory (which is where they would have been, thanks to a dumb penalty on the Packers during the PAT after Adrian Peterson's TD run), they could have better capitalized on the momentum that they had built to that point.

Yes, last night's loss was disappointing, to say the least.  Yes, it's a game that the Vikings could have won.  Yes, Brad Childress is now 0-5 against Green Bay as the Vikings' head coach (and nobody is more infuriated with that than I am).  But it's only one game, and the time has come to move on and start looking forward to the home opener against Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon.  Hopefully things will take a much different path than they took on Monday night.

Both the Vikings and the Packers released their final injury reports for Monday night's game yesterday, and things look a lot better for the Vikings on the injury front than they do for Green Bay, in my opinion.

Let's start with Green Bay's injuries first.

And now for the Beloved Purple:

As you can see, the Vikings will have almost their entire complement of players heading into Monday night's game, while the Packers are going to have some injury issues.

Take a look at all of the injuries that Green Bay has on the defensive side of the ball, particularly along the defensive line.  Ryan Pickett isn't on their injury list, but he's also been limited in his participation during the pre-season.  The injury report might say that he's recovered. . .and the Vikings would be well served to test that.

If I was Brad Childress, I'd take my Tarvaris Jackson. . .provided he has his full mobility. . .and get him to the edge on rollouts, sprintouts, and so forth.  Make Green Bay's big uglies run around a little bit.  Between the injuries and the lack of depth on the interior of the Green Bay d-line, it would help the Vikings later on in the game, in my opinion.  Get Peterson and Taylor out on the edges, too, on tosses and swing passes.  Hopefully we'll see that early and often on Monday night.

More on the game as the weekend wears on, folks. . .I'm going to go back to tracking Hurricane Ike.  Yes, ANOTHER freaking hurricane.  Hurricane season has to stop eventually, doesn't it?

With Tarvaris Jackson, Bernard Berrian, and Sidney Rice all watching from the sidelines, the Vikings took on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third exhibition game of the 2008 season last night in Minneapolis.  As you'd expect, there were things that were good and things that were not so good about last night's performance.  That's what this here thread is for, so let's get to it.

What Was Good

The First-String Defense - Oh, so THAT'S what a pass rush looks like, huh?  I was confused. . .it's been so long since the Vikings have actually had one of those on a consistent basis that I had pretty much forgotten.  But yes, ladies and gentlemen, that's quite similar to what I expect the Four Norsemen of the Apocalypse to be doing all season long.  In the first half, the Steelers' first-string offense netted a total of 76 yards and three points. . .three points which were, unfortunately, pretty much set up by the Minnesota offense, but we'll discuss them later on.

Last night we saw Jared Allen blowing up double teams when they were thrown at him, the Williams' boys disrupting things in the middle as only they can, and Ray Edwards showing us that even though he might be the forgotten man on this defensive line, opposing defensive coordinators would be foolish to ignore him.  And we haven't even mentioned the depth on the defensive line, but it's pretty good, too.  If the Vikings can generate the kind of pressure with just their front four that we saw against Pittsburgh last night, they stand to be ready to take a mammoth leap forward.

Aundrae Allison - With the Vikings' #1 and #2 wide receivers sitting out last night's game with a toe injury and a stomach virus, respectively, the new #84 got some significant run with the first team last night, and he responded very well, leading all receivers with 5 catches for 56 yards.  The majority of those receptions came from the slot, which is where Allison is best suited to work.  His receptions covered 8, 11, 13, 17, and 7 yards, and all but one came before halftime.  With the Minnesota passing game looking to become a much bigger threat and with the other receiving options the Vikings have available right now, one has to wonder how Allison will get worked into the offense, but he's proven over the course of the pre-season that he definitely deserves to have his role in the offense increased.

Erin Henderson - I don't know how the heck Henderson the Younger wasn't a first-day draft pick. . .after all, that's where he was originally projected. . .but he's proving to be a very nice addition to an already talented linebacker group.  He tied again for the team lead in tackles last night with five, and also threw in a strip of Rashard Mendenhall to force a Steeler turnover.  With the injury to Heath Farwell, coupled with his performance to this point, it looks to me like the reunion of the Henderson brothers will last through the 2008 season. . .and possibly well beyond.

What Wasn't Good

The run offense - Yes, I realize that the Steelers are a very good defense, and that it's only pre-season. . .but Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor combining for 26 yards on 16 carries last night is rough.  Really, really rough.  For an offense that prides itself on its ability to run the football, such performances simply can't become the norm for this team if they're to live up to the expectations that they've been given.  Fortunately, I'm not terribly worried about this one at this point, and I think it's going to come together before the season opener.

Penalties - Ten penalties in a pre-season game, including three false start penalties on the opening drive. . .at home.  Blech.  Of the ten penalties, there were four false starts, two for defensive offsides, one for illegal formation, and three 15-yard penalties (face mask on E.J. Henderson, unnecessary roughness on Matt Birk, and roughing the passer on Letroy Guion).  At least 8 of those 10 penalties are easily eliminated (the false starts, the illegal formation, and the three 15-yarders), and they NEED to be eliminated before the first game of the regular season.  The Vikings are perennially among the league leaders in penalties, and this is a trend that needs to be completely reversed.

Quarterback - Not that Gus Frerotte was "bad," per se. . .but last night made me happy that he's our backup and not somebody we're relying on for the long-term.  Like I said, he had a decent game (save for the awful interception that set up Pittsburgh's only first-half score), but I don't want to see him out there more than a couple times in 2008.  I'd prefer to not see him at all, but with Tarvaris Jackson's injury history, that hardly seems like a realistic hope.

What do you all think, folks?  What did you like or not like about last night's performance?  Feel free to talk about it here!

We should be back with some more later on this afternoon.  Apparently TS Fay decided that she didn't want a piece of Gonzo and decided to take a track more to the north of where Mrs. Gonzo and I live.  (Or there was something in the atmosphere that made it go that way.  Hell, I don't know, it's just a theory.)  We'll see you then, everybody!

Alrighty, the first pre-season game of the year is in the books, which means that we can officially look back on what went well and what didn't.

Let's clarify one thing before we get started. . .it's the first pre-season game.  Therefore, it's too darn early to really judge anything, and it's certainly too darn early to panic.  However, while we can't really judge anything in the bigger picture at this point, we CAN take a look at this game as a whole, because it did have its ups and downs for the Beloved Purple.

(And, yes, I will probably come up with a snappy theme for this sort of thing like the Scarlett/Rosie deal I experimented with last season.  It's pre-season for me, too, darn it.)

What Was Good

Tarvaris Jackson - Any discussion of what went well last night against Seattle needs to begin wtih #7.  In the first two pre-season games of 2007, Tarvaris Jackson threw a total of 15 passes.  Last night, he threw 13.  In fact, here's how the play calling went on the drives that Jackson led the team, all against Seattle's #1 defense:

Pass to Kleinsasser (13 yards)
Pass to Berrian (10 yards, brought back by penalty)
Pass to Shiancoe (10 yards, fumble lost)

Pass to Berrian (24 yards)
Pass to Rice (incomplete)
Pass to Wade (incomplete)
Pass to Berrian (19 yards)
Pass to Tapeh (6 yard TD)

Pass to Rice (9 yards)
Pass to Berrian (incomplete, but a nice deep ball)
Pass to Wade (28 yards)
Pass to Wade (10 yards)
Pass to Rice (incomplete, drew pass interference flag from Marcus Trufant. . .would have been a 20-yard TD without the mugging on another beautifully thrown ball)

And then Chester Taylor took 3 tries to get 1 yard for Minnesota's second touchdown.

Jackson's overall numbers were 8/11 for 118 yards and a touchdown, and he looked about as comfortable as one could hope for the first pre-season game of the year.  He showed much better presence than he did in 2007, much greater patience, and really only made one bad throw that I saw (the first incompletion to Rice where he almost threw it right to Marcus Trufant).  I certainly hope that this carries over, but if the play-action passing game can work as well as it did last night, things are going to be quite different this year for #7.

Great game plan, too. . .we know we can run the football.  Hell, the entire world knows we can run the football.  No point in putting Adrian Peterson's neck on the line in the first pre-season game.  From all the camp reports, #28 is already in mid-season form.  Besides, he needs to work on his pass blocking, too.

Minnesota's New WR Corps - I was quite impressed by the receivers at the top of the depth chart last night.  I'm not sure if Trufant was mailing it in last night or what, but every time he lined up across from Berrian, #87 appeared to abuse him pretty good.  Sidney Rice looks to be bigger and stronger than he was last year, and I hope we see many more attempted fade passes/jump balls to him in the red zone this year.  With the running game this offense has, there's no reason that Rice can't double his output from 2007, when he had 31 catches and 4 TD receptions.  I think that, by the end of the year, we'll see Berrian and Rice less as a #1 and #2 and as more of a #1 and a #1a.  Bobby Wade also had a couple of nice grabs.

Young Return Men - The Vikings, by and large, had rookies handling the return duties last night, and they looked fairly impressive.  Darius Reynaud had a great 53-yard kick return on the kickoff following Seattle's first TD.  (Note to Darius, if he's reading out there. . .run AROUND the kicker.  Seriously.)  Fellow rookie Jaymar Johnson looked pretty good on a 23-yard punt return in the second half as well.  Both of these youngsters have to know that they're probably fighting for one roster spot, so they need to make all the positive impressions that they can get.

Jared Allen - I haven't seen anyone in purple get off the ball as quickly as this guy since Chris Doleman was roaming the Dome.  Allen spent the night lined up against Walter Jones, one of the NFL's better LTs, and there were quite a few plays that #69 just flat out whooped Jones and wound up in the Seattle backfield.  This guy is going to be fun to watch this year, folks, and is going to end up being a very prudent investment by Zygi Wilf and company.

What Wasn't Good

Heath Farwell's Injury - In what's becoming an annual tradition, it appears that the Vikings have lost a linebacker for the year in their first pre-season game for the third consecutive season.  After Chad Greenway and Rufus Alexander tore ACLs in 2006 and 2007, respectively, it appears that we might be looking at the same fate for Heath Farwell in 2008.  He got carted off of the field last night, and Vikings sideline reporter Greg Coleman said that it appeared that Farwell's knee was "shot."  Never a good sign.  Farwell, who was the Vikings' special teams MVP in 2006 and 2007, would be a big loss for the Vikings if he can't come back.  He's scheduled to have an MRI done today sometime, and as soon as anything is available, we'll pass it along.

Hold On to the Damn Football - The Vikings turned the football over 5 times on Friday night, leading directly to 20 Seahawk points.  When you basically hand the opposition 20 points, it becomes very hard to win football games.  Three of Minnesota's four lost fumbles came inside of Viking territory.  Regardless of whether it's the first pre-season game or whether the people that fumbled are going to make the roster or not, fumbling five times in a game and losing four is pretty unacceptable.  I realize that the Vikings aren't going to fumble five times in EVERY game they play this season, but it's still kind of frustrating to watch.

The Rest of the Defense in General - I don't know if the Vikings defenders are guilty of buying into their own hype a little but, but outside of Jared Allen, the entire unit. . .first team, second team, third team. . .just got abused by the Seattle offense.  I realize that Pat Williams and Madieu Williams were healthy scratches, but we still shouldn't have looked THAT bad.  It's vanilla, we didn't blitz much, and it's still early in the pre-season, but this is probably the aspect of last night's game I was the most disappointed with.  But, fortunately, I also think that it will get much better as the pre-season rolls on, and by the time we hit the regular season, the Vikings' defense should be exactly what we're anticipating them to be. . .outstanding.

You all saw the game last night. . .well, most of you did, hopefully.  What are your impressions of what happened under the teflon sky last night?  Talk about it right here!  And be sure to check out Field Gulls, SBNation's Seahawks site, for their perspectives on last night's clash.

Yes, I apologize. . .I'm sort of taking the easy way out on this one.  Hey, it's the weekend, and this one still has to be done, so let's get it out of the way, shall we?  The Vikings are pretty well set at all of the special teams positions.  Ryan Longwell is going to be the kicker, Chris Kluwe is going to be the punter, and Cullen Loeffler is going to be the long snapper.

I know that Steven Hauschika, a rookie from North Carolina State, is currently on the roster as a kicker, but he's pretty much just there to give Ryan Longwell a break during the pre-season.  I don't think he's a serious threat to Longwell's job security or anything.  Nor should he be, considering that Longwell has been pretty outstanding for us in the two seasons he's been in a Viking uniform.  Since escaping Green Bay for the much, much greener pastures of the Twin Cities, Longwell is 41/49 in the field goal department (missing 4 field goals in each season), and 5 of his 8 misses have been from 50+ yards out.  He's even thrown a TD pass since joining the Vikings (Week 2 against Carolina in 2006).  Longwell has also managed to improve his kickoffs since coming to Minnesota as well.  He'll continue to be the Vikings' kicker for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, nobody has been brought in to compete with Chris Kluwe as of yet, and I'd be surprised if anybody was. . .although the Vikings DID work out an Australian punter by the name of Shane Phillips, according to the blog of former Vikings' special teams coach Gary Zauner.  However, Kluwe isn't going anywhere.  The best Vikings' rookie of 2005. . .which is sad, considering he was a UDFA and not part of our actual draft class. . .has done a solid job for the Vikings thus far.  I've got a soft spot in my heart for anyone that can go out and punt with a torn knee ligament, which is what Kluwe did towards the end of his rookie season after getting injured.  The Vikings signed him to a long-term deal not too long ago, so they obviously think he's the answer at punter.  With the way he's performed in his three seasons in Minnesota, I see no reason to disagree.

Cullen Loeffler is the long snapper.  He. . .ummmmm. . .snaps the ball.  Long.  He's been doing the job for Minnesota since 2004, and to be honest, I can't remember very many bad snaps during that time, if there have been any at all.  Long snappers are like baseball umpires. . .we don't notice them unless they screw something up.  The fact that I don't have a whole lot to say about Loeffler means that I haven't noticed him much. . .which, in this case, can only be considered a good thing.

So now that we've talked about the specialists, let's take a look at a couple of positions that need to be filled by guys that we've already discussed.  I'm referring to the positions of kick returner and punt returner.

I've mentioned my confusion over the signing of Maurice Hicks before, because from all of the reports that have been out there, the guy was primarily signed for his return skills.  It's puzzling because I thought that Aundrae Allison had done an outstanding job in that role for Minnesota in 2007, with his 3 returns of 60+ yards and 28.7 yard return average.  Hicks is also the #3 running back, but come on. . .barring injuries to both Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson, how many snaps is he actually going to get back there?

I guess that I really, really just don't understand the role Maurice Hicks fills on this football team at the moment.  Allison is our best kick returner, in my opinion, and is the best choice to stay there.  I know that Allison's role in the offense might be increasing, but he's still, at best, the #4 guy on the depth chart right now (behind Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, and Bobby Wade), and possibly lower depending on your opinion of Robert Ferguson.  Allison has great speed, good moves, and seems to be a natural returner.  If I'm the Vikings, I'm not sure I want to mess with that.

As far as punt returning goes, our main guy last year was Mewelde Moore, who has since moved on to Pittsburgh.  The only other guy on the roster that returned any punts last year was Bobby Wade.  Neither of them have met a fair catch that they didn't like.  Hicks, again, doesn't seem to fit in here either, as he hasn't returned a single punt in his 4 years in the NFL.  This will be one of the more intriguing positions to watch in training camp this year.  Is this going to be how rookie Jaymar Johnson makes his way on to the roster?  Will the Vikings give someone like Charles Gordon (who was an outstanding college return man) a chance to win the job?  Or will they stick with the one real proven commodity they have and let Wade keep the job?  To be honest, I think that with Johnson's speed, I hope he can handle the role.  It would be nice to have explosive young returners on both the kick and punt return units.

What do you folks think about out special teams?  Go ahead and discuss it right here, and we'll be back either later today or tomorrow morning.  Continue enjoying your Saturday, everybody!

In our quest to project the 53-man roster for the Vikings, thus far we've filled three spots with quarterbacks.  Continuing along with the offensive theme, we're going to take a look at the guys that the Minnesota offense really revolves around, our running backs.  Here's everyone that's currently listed as being part of the Vikings' roster at the running back and fullback positions.

There they are, folks. . .the best and most talented group of running backs in the National Football League.

We start with the best of the best, or at least the best of the conference.  We knew going into the 2007 season that Adrian Peterson was talented. . .I started calling him the 2007 Offensive Rookie of the Year about five minutes after we drafted him. . .but nobody could have realistically expected what we got from AP last season.  1,341 rushing yards, 13 total touchdowns, two of the most electrifying single-game performances in franchise history, numerous Viking records. . .and he just turned 23 years old.  He might be the most exciting offensive player in the league, and if he's not, he's certainly a part of that conversation.

In a recent article, Peterson stated that his goal was to rush for 2,000 yards in 2008.  Do I think that it's an achievable goal for him?  Certainly, it is.  I don't think that there's any goal that #28 could set for himself that he couldn't possibly achieve.  But there's at least part of me that hopes that it doesn't happen.  Why?  Because I want AP to be productive for the long-term and not potentially shorten his career in any way.

If AP could maintain his 5.6 yards/carry average from last year, he would need 358 carries in order to break 2,000 yards.  I'm not sure how realistic it is to expect even a guy with Peterson's talent to keep up that sort of pace. . .LaDanian Tomlinson currently has a career average of 4.5 ypc, and has never had a season where he averaged as many yards per carry as Peterson did last year (his best was 5.3 ypc in 2003).  So 358 would be the minimum number of carries that he'd need to get to 2000, and would probably be closer to 400.  Looking at a very well-done article from the folks at FootballOutsiders, they have a rule called the "370-carry theory."  As it says in the article, the 370-carry theory basically says

A running back with 370 or more carries during the regular season will usually suffer either a major injury or loss of effectiveness the following year, unless he is named Eric Dickerson.

Some of the examples of this would be Curtis Martin in 2005, Ricky Williams in 2003, Shaun Alexander in 2006, and Larry Johnson in 2007. . .not to mention the careers of Terrell Davis, Earl Campbell, Gerald Riggs, and numerous others.

As much as I love me some Adrian Peterson, I don't want him getting 350 carries or 375 carries or 400 carries, even if it means him not getting 2,000 yards in a season.  I want the guy to remain healthy and fresh for as long as possible.  I want him to be in a Vikings uniform for a long time, and to contradict the great Neil Young, I'd rather see him fade away than burn out.  Besides, if we give Adrian Peterson all of the carries. . .

. . .it would keep us from exploiting the fact that we have the best backup running back in the NFL on the team.  Yes, Chester Taylor went from being, basically, the only competent skill position player on the team in 2006 to being a backup for most of 2007, and he did it without whining, crying, complaining, or anything else that could have hampered the Vikings.  He still ran for 844 yards (which would have made him the leading rusher on 12 NFL teams) despite only getting 157 carries, scored eight touchdowns, managed to go over 100 yards twice, and it was he. . .not Peterson. . .who had the Vikings' longest run of the season with his 85-yard sprint against San Francisco.  Taylor is an extremely vital part of the Minnesota offense, and I'm quite happy to see him still with the team.

The more I think about the signing of Maurice Hicks, the more it puzzles me.  I realize that he's the third RB on this team, but I'm really trying to figure out what purpose he serves.  For his career, he has 869 rushing yards on 205 carries, 75% of which came in his first two years in the NFL.  His strength is, apparently, on kickoff returns. . .in 2007, he had 63 returns with a 23.8 yard average, a long of 55 yards, and 4 returns of 40+ yards.  But, considering that we have a guy in Aundrae Allison that averaged 28.7 yards a return with 3 returns of 60+ yards and a team record 105-yard return for a TD, I kind of fail to see where he fits in on that front, either.  But, until I have a reason not to trust what this front office is doing, I'll roll with it.  It's not like we're going to have to rely on him heavily at any point this year. . .I hope.

Arkee Whitlock has been on the practice squad for the Vikings for a few years, and has yet to see a single NFL carry.  Albert Young was brought in as an undrafted free agent.  Honestly, I don't see either of them being a factor for the Vikings in 2008.  And that's about all I've got to say about that.

The Vikings carried three fullbacks in 2007, and with the run-heavy schemes that the Vikings' offense is centered around, I don't see any reason why that won't be the case again.

Thomas Tapeh comes back to his hometown team, as he grew up in the Twin Cities and matriculated at the University of Minnesota before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles.  Tapeh is basically Tony Richardson minus 10 years.  He's a very good lead blocker, and might catch the occasional pass.  I look forward to seeing him open up holes for Peterson and Taylor this season.

Remember when we all thought Jeff Dugan was just some guy that Mike Tice drafted because he went to the same college and played the same position?  Well, as sad as this is going to sound, Dugan is now one of only six players left on the team from the Tice-era drafts of 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 (the other five are Bryant McKinnie, Kevin Williams, E.J. Henderson, Marcus Johnson, and Kenechi Udeze).  With those kind of drafts in such recent history, it's a big surprise that this team is competitive at all, but that's another post for another time.  Dugan is listed as a TE, largely because of his uniform number, but lines up at both FB and TE, so we'll include him here.  His versatility makes him a nice addition to the team, and since he signed a long-term extension a few years back, I'm sure he'll continue in the same capacity he's been in for the last five years.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Naufahu Tahi.  Why?  I love the "bowling ball" type of running back, and at 6' and 255 pounds, Tahi certainly falls into that category.  If we didn't already have two very capable backs, I'd like to see him get some carries in goal line situations, but he still serves quite well as a lead blocker and provides good depth if something should happen to Tapeh and/or Dugan.

So, to sum up. . .

Potential League MVP:  Adrian Peterson
Best Backup RB in the NFL:  Chester Taylor
The "Other" RB:  Maurice Hicks
Fullbacks:  Thomas Tapeh (starter), Jeff Dugan, Naufahu Tahi
Cut:  Arkee Whitlock (because I don't think he has any practice squad eligibility left)
Practice Squad Candidate:  Albert Young

Next time, we'll look at the WRs and TEs. . .spots that might have some actual intrigue involved.  Until then, keep enjoying the long weekend, and we'll see you back here tomorrow!