Frozen in the Tundra

One week after playing the game of their lives, the Minnesota Vikings looked as if they were standing still at Lambeau Field yesterday, as they were dominated by Brett Favre and his Green Bay Packers 34-0.

Brett Favre broke yet another NFL record passing for over 60,000 yards in his NFL career, becoming only the second quarterback in history to do so. The legendary Dan Marino has 61,361 career yards, just ahead of Brett faver who has 60,257 yards. Favre completed 33 of 46 passes for 351 yards, threw three touchdowns and no interceptions against our Vikings. A Minnesota pass defense that has been ranked close to last or even dead last all season, had a tremendous week against the San Diego Chargers last week. Minnesota only allowed 197 passing yards to the Chargers and only 42 yards rushing. In yesterday's game, Minnesota allowed 351 yards passing and 120 yards rushing. Yesterday was the first game where a team ran for over 100 yards against this number two rush defense.

It was the Ryan Grant show in the backfield yesterday, as he was given the ball 25 times for 119 yards. It was as if Minnesota could not get moving in the great outdoors of Lambeau Field. Grant also had one touchdown and one run that went for 30 yards. The remainder of the backfield ran for only two yards on seven carries the rest of the game.

The passing game just crushed our defense as well. Favre's 351 yards was divided up between five receivers almost evenly. Both Donald Driver and Gregg Jennings had four receptions for 63 yards, while James Jones had three receptions for 62 yards. The game breaker as Ruvell Martin who had 4 receptions for 57 yards and two touchdowns, and former Viking Koren Robinson had five receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown. It was as if Brett Favre could throw a pass and someone in green and gold was catching it. Favre's pass completion ratio was at 71.7%, while his passer rating was 115.4% for the day. It was the most perfect day for Green Bay yesterday. Anytime they touched the ball they gained yards.

The Packers had the ball for 40:20 in a 60:00 game. They had 29 first downs, were 64% (11/17) on third down efficiency, 100% (2/2) on fourth down efficiency, and had a total of 488 yards on the day. Green Bay was also able to score points on 6 of 10 possessions, punting three times, and kneeling the ball down to end the game. Packer fans could not ask for anything more than that.

As for the Minnesota Vikings, they had probably their worst game of the season. The Vikings punted five times, threw one interception, and lost the ball on downs three times. They had only 11 first downs all day, and were an embarrassing 0 for 8 in third down efficiency, and 0 for 3 on fourth down efficiency. The Vikings offense only gained 247 yards all game long. Brooks Bollinger was 16 for 26 on passes for 157 yards, threw one interception, and was sacked twice in the fourth quarter. Bollinger had a 61.5% pass completion ratio, and a 65.5% passer rating. Even stud running back Adrian Peterson didn't have much going yesterday. He carried the ball 11 times for 45 yards, and exited the game in the third quarter with an injury.

The Minnesota Vikings are looking forward to returning home this week, as they try and turn things around and get a win against the lowly Oakland Raiders. The Minnesota Vikings are now playing for pride. The way things are going now, a playoff run in improbable. The Vikings are now 3-6, with seven games left to play. The only way the Vikings can make the playoffs is if they win out, and the Giants, Redskins, Eagles, Lions and Bears all lose three or four games. The Vikings now sit in the cellar of the North Division with games against the Bears, and Lions remaining, and have only beaten the Chicago Bears in their own division. Hopefully our Vikings can turn things around, and play respectable the remainder of the season. I'll still be rooting for them, and I am still attending two more games this season.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!

Packers Gearing up for Vikings at Lambeau

Brett Farve and his Green Bay Packers are preparing for their final meet of this season with the torrid Minnesota Vikings. This rivalry dates back to September 29, 1961, when the Green Bay Packers and Bart Starr defeated the Minnesota Vikings 28-10 at Metropolitan Stadium. Since that date, these two teams have met 93 times, with Green Bay winning 47 of those games. The series record between Green Bay and Minnesota gives the Packers a 47-45-1 lead. However, these two teams have met once in the playoffs in 2003, and it was our Vikings winning 23-20.

This season Green Bay and Minnesota played at the Metrodome in week four, as Brett Favre and his Packers defeated our Vikings 23-16, thanks to a last minute interception off Kelly Holcomb. In that game, Brett Favre broke an NFL record by throwing the 422nd touchdown of his illustrious career. In the game on September 30, Favre completed 32 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns, for a passer rating of 108%. Brett's record breaking touchdown was thrown to Greg Jennings for 16 yards, and a 33 yard pass to James Jones. Jennings is one of Favre's favorite receivers to throw to. Jennings has caught 23 passes for 454 yards and six touchdowns on the season.

Brett Favre's other top receiver is James Jones. Jones has 29 receptions for 432 yards on the season and two touchdowns. However, Brett Favre's favorite receiver Donald Driver had 7 receptions for 58 yards against Minnesota in September, and the Viking defense kept him out of the end zone. Driver has 44 receptions for 539 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. Driver has always been a deadly force on the field against anyone who has to defend him.

In the backfield for the Packers is DeShawn Wynn who averages 4.1 yards per carry, and Ryan Grant who averages 4.0 yards per carry. The Wynn/Grant duo has combined for 97 carries and 389 yards on the season. Against Minnesota's number two rushing defense in the NFL, both Wynn and Grant will have their work cut out for them. On September 30, DeShawn Wynn carried the ball 10 times for 20 yards, which is his lowest average of the season, while his counterpart Ryan Grant had 3 carries for 17 yards.

This game is a must win for our Minnesota Vikings. The key element to winning here will be for Minnesota to continue their performance on the run defense, and have their passing defense step it up again this week. The Vikings had their best game of the season last week against San Diego. Their passing defense stifled the Chargers as they gave up only 199 passing yards for the day. Minnesota's 32nd ranked pass defense usually allowed 288 yards per game. The Viking run defense was also at their best, as they allowed 42 total yards rushing for the game. Minnesota held San Diego's stud running back LaDainian Tomlinson to 45 total yards for the day, and quarterback Philip Rivers to 5 yards rushing, while Michael Turner was stopped for a loss of 3 yards on his only carry.

Offensively, Minnesota will need to get the ball to Adrian Peterson about 25 times and Chester Taylor 15-20 times. The Vikings will need to mix it up a bit, and keep Green Bay on their heels. If Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor can find their groove again, it is going to be a long day for Green Bay. This will be Peterson's first trip the the "Frozen Tundra" and the mystic of Lambeau Field. The Vikings have fared pretty well at Lambeau, as they have a history record of 15-15-1. For our passing offense, Minnesota will most likely rely on Brooks Bollinger at quarterback, and the likes of Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade for receiving. Troy Williamson who has been an utter flop in the NFL, should be used more often in short slant passes, then turn up field and utilize his speed to get by defenders. Minnesota's needs to keep Green bay on their heels defensively all day, and look for another stellar performance by their defense.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!