Minnesota Vikings Impress In A Game They Had No Business Losing

Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was a painful game for the Minnesota Vikings, to be sure, but one they had no business losing.

Plenty of things went right for the NFC North-leading Vikings, who stuck with the favored Pittsburgh Steelers for virtually the entire game. Questionable play-calling and poor luck got in between Minnesota and a perfect record, though, and the Vikings fell to 6-1 on the season.

Heading into the game, much ado was made regarding the injury and absence of Minnesota corner back Antoine Winfield. The Viking’s best defensive back, Winfield would force the Steelers to think twice before launching the ball down field.

With Winfield out for a month, the consensus among fans was that Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would have at least one receiver open all day. It was thought he would be free to pick apart the corner back-by-committee approach the Vikings would take.

During the game, few throws were lofted downfield. The only extended period of time when Roethlisberger was able to consistently find open receivers for 20-25 yard gains was at the end of the first half, when Minnesota was implementing a soft cover-two defense with extremely deep safeties.

Other than that 1:39, the Steelers were held mainly to the ground. This wasn’t of particular concern to Pittsburgh, however, as they managed to have success against the suddenly-porous Minnesota rush defense.

In the first half, the Minnesota defense was surprisingly solid. Despite having to deal with horrible field position because of awful punting, the Vikings held Pittsburgh to just three points (not including the touchdown resulting from the poor defensive scheme at the end of the half.)

Earlier in the half, however, Minnesota had perhaps the best offensive drive of the season. Going 76 yards on 13 plays, Brett Favre led Minnesota down the field with methodical dips and dukes to his receivers.

The perfect picture of Minnesota’s ideal offense was painted when Favre mixed in the occasional 15-20 yard heave to Sidney Rice. If opposing defenses want to know how to stop the Vikings, they need look no further than the drive that resulted in an Adrian Peterson two-yard touchdown dive.

Minnesota had the ball with 3:30 remaining in the half while holding a slim lead. Completing one first down, the Vikings found themselves near midfield, and in prime position to add to their lead going into the half. If coach Brad Childress didn’t feel comfortable going for the end-zone, another acceptable strategy would have been running the clock down.

Instead of going for the points or consuming time, however, Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell accessed their infuriatingly conservative playbook. The play that stuck out the most, though, was on third-and-15, with just under two minutes remaining in the half.

Bevell called for a Chester Taylor dive up the middle, in essence forfeiting the drive. Minnesota was forced to punt, and Roethlisberger took over at his own nine-yard line with 1:39 remaining. That drive resulted in a touchdown.

Rashard Mendenhall tore apart the Vikings during the first drive of the second half, which ended in a Pittsburgh field goal to push the score to 13-7.

With seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, Childress called for the Vikings to attempt a fourth-and-one from Pittsburgh’s 35 yard line, much to the joy of Minnesota fans everywhere.

Favre connected with Sidney Rice for the first down, who ran the ball down the one-yard line to set up the eventual Minnesota field goal. The relationship that has developed between Rice and Favre is certainly worth mentioning and probably deserving of its own column.

Without the mentoring and right arm of Favre, Rice would have never reached the level of performance he has so far this year. Putting up two consecutive 100-yard games, Rice has impressed upon Vikings’ fans the importance of a veteran in the locker room.

Later in the third quarter, the Steelers were in a first-and-goal position thanks to two big plays from Mendenhall and Santonio Holmes. A touchdown would have given Pittsburgh a 10-point advantage, but a Mendenhall fumble helped spark a long Minnesota drive.

Following three penalties early in the fourth quarter, Minnesota faced a third-and-18 from their own 23-yard line. Needing a big play to keep the potential go-ahead drive alive, Rice did his best impression of Vikings’ great Cris Carter on the right sideline, completing a 25-yard pass that was originally ruled an in-completion.

Perhaps the most frustrating penalty call of the game occured at the most inopportune time for the Vikings. A 10-yard touchdown throw to Rice was nullified by a supposed tripping penalty (seen at the 2:00 mark of

This penalty fueled a 14-point turn around for the Steelers, as they forced a fumble and ran the ball across the field for a touchdown, putting the score to 20-10.

Rookie receiver Percy Harvin ran the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown of his own, though, giving Minnesota the momentum despite still being down by three points.

The highlight-reel clip of the game came from Peterson in the play directly following the two-minute warning. Facing a critical third-and-four from his own 45-yard line, Favre shuffled a quick pass to Peterson up the middle.

Turning around after catching the ball, Peterson saw Pittsburgh’s William Gay six inches from his face. Instead of attempting a spin, or juke, Peterson simply lowered his head and continued plowing forward for a gain of 29 yards. (See it here at the 3:06 mark. )

In the red zone with under two minutes to play, Favre had the chance to give the Vikings a four-point lead, but tossed the ball a bit too high to Chester Taylor. Unable to hold on, the ball slipped through Taylor’s hands right into a Pittsburgh defender, who returned it for another Steeler touchdown, sealing the fate of the Vikings.

Although now with a blemished record, the Vikings hung with a very solid team at a hostile location. Remove a few questionable play-calls and a fluke interception, and Minnesota is still one of the best teams in the league.

That said, there are certainly some things the Vikings need to improve. While the conservative play-calling at critical times in the game probably won’t cease, Minnesota would be doing themselves much good by working on both late-game pass defense and offensive tackling.

Next week, providing they are able to keep Aaron Rodgers upright, the Green Bay Packers will have a much easier time exploiting the absence of Winfield in the secondary. Benny Sapp, Karl Paymah, and Asher Allen all need to be at the top of their games.

Despite the great performance put up by the Vikings on Sunday against the Steelers, some improvement will be needed in order to maintain their leg-up on the rest of the NFC North.

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Minnesota Vikings 2009-10 Season Preview: Wide Reciever

The abundance of receivers in Minnesota is a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.

There are currently 10 receivers on the Minnesota Vikings roster, which means at least four will find themselves unemployed in the very near future.

Here is a list of the ten receivers vying for the same positions:

• Bernard Berrian
• Sidney Rice
• Percy Harvin
• Jaymar Johnson
• Bobby Wade
• Glenn Holt
• Darius Reynaud
• Vinny Perretta
• Bobby Williams
• Nick Moore

Ten players, five or six positions. I’m sure the pressure is feeling just as hot as the late-summer heat in Mankato, but I believe the first four of these players are locks to make the opening day roster. The other six are competing for, at most, two roster spots. Talk about competition.

 

Absolute, sure-fire locks to be on the field against Cleveland on Sept. 13

You can’t cut a man making multiple millions of dollars unless his name is Nick Punto. Bernard Berrian will be making nearly $14 million this season, and probably earning every penny. His team-leading 964 yards over 48 receptions provided the perfect deep threat for either Frerotte or Jackson last year.

Sidney Rice started just three games last year, but that was because he was incapable of remaining healthy for more than a few hours at a time. He has shown glimpses of brilliance in the past, however, and should enjoy a breakout season as a 23 year old with tons to lose yet the ability (and height) to prove himself.

First-round selection Percy Harvin has done nothing but impress so far this year. Considered by some as the best overall athlete on the team, Harvin has a running back’s open-field instincts to go with his elusiveness and great hands. While he didn’t play in a pro-style offense last year, Harvin appears to be doing just fine with Childress’ plays.

Should get in, will be shocked if he doesn’t

Jaymar Johnson, now that he has received the blessing of Cris Carter, is no longer a secret. With extreme speed, the reason Johnson was drafted in the sixth round was because of his small size and poor hands. Since last year, though, Johnson has apparently put on twenty pounds and Carter claims his hands are fine. I trust No. 80 to make receiver judgments, don’t you?

 

The favorites and contenders

The remaining six receivers currently on the roster are fighting for, at best, two spots. The favorites on this list are Bobby Wade and Darius Reynaud, both of whom were impressive last year. Wade, although not flashy by any means, was one of the most reliable options either Frerotte or Jackson had last year, while Reynaud made a few great kick returns.

With Harvin sliding into the slot position, Wade seems to be the odd man out this year. Gonzo, of the Daily Norseman, explains better:

The problem that Wade is going to run into this season is attempting to figure out where, exactly, he fits into the roster. His ideal spot is as a slot receiver, but Percy Harvin will almost certainly take a big part of that role away…He could also possibly fit in as a punt returner, but the Vikings appear to be grooming both Harvin and Jaymar Johnson to take on those responsibilities. He’s simply not big enough to line up full-time on the outside, and even if he was, Bernard Berrian and Sidney Rice have those spots locked down.

Even though Wade lead the team in receptions last year, there is a possibility he may not find himself on a team come Sept 13. I have a hard time believing that the Vikings will go with Reynaud over Wade, and I am also struggling with the idea of Reynaud being cut, so I’m going to guess that they both make it on the final roster and that Childress rolls with six receivers for the 2009-10 campaign.

The remaining smorgasbord of receivers

Vinny Perretta, Bobby Williams, Nick Moore, and Glenn Holtremain. Holt was a fairly effective kick-returner for the Bengals last year, but was cut by them for a reason: he simply isn’t very good. If both Harvin and Reynaud are on the roster there will be no need for Holt. The rest were long-shots from the start but could possibly find themselves with a practice squad invitation.

In review, here are the six receivers who I think will make the September 13 roster when the Vikings open the season against the Browns, along with the role they will play:

1. Bernard Berrian—Primary deep threat
2. Sidney Rice—Second wide-out
3. Percy Harvin—Slot receiver and part-time kick/punt-returner
4. Jaymar Johnson—Fourth receiver
5. Bobby Wade—Primary receiver off the bench
6. Darius Reynaud—Primary punt/kick returner, seldom-used as a receiver