Vikings Have Re-Newed Confidence

The Minnesota Vikings have now won two in a row for the first time this season, and look to make it three straight wins, as they play the Detroit Lions at the Metrodome. The Vikings currently hold a 58-23-1 series lead over the Lions and must win today to keep their regained playoff hopes alive.

Just a couple weeks ago everyone wrote off the Minnesota Vikings for the season, as they watched Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers crush our Vikings 34-0. Since that time, the Vikings have won two straight and are 3-2 in their last five games, while the Lions have gone (2-3) the Redskins (1-4), the Eagles (3-2), the Giants (3-2), the Cardinals (2-3), and the the Saints (2-3) in their last five games. All or most of these teams had a one to two game lead over our Vikings, and are all now fighting for their play off lives. With Minnesota still to play Detroit, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington and Denver, it is very likely they could win out and go 10-6. I believe the Vikings need to win out to make the playoffs, while others feel an 8-8 team will be in the Wild Card game from the NFC. For the Vikings, their true chance to make the playoff come in winning all five games, because so many teams are still ahead of them in tiebreakers.

The Minnesota Vikings have been led by the youngster Tarvaris Jackson the past two weeks. In the first 10 weeks of the season, Jackson had a pass completion of 45.74 and a passer rating of 57.2. In the last two weeks, Jackson has boosted his pass completion ratio to 77.3 and 83.3 respectively. He has also raised his passer rating to 79.9 and 139.2. Jackson's recent success has obviously been in the offensive line's blocking and his ability to get the ball to the receivers on time. I have said all season long that Jackson has been put in the unfortunate situation of being so raw and unprepared, that he will need three years of playing time to actually be ready to compete in the NFL. I have also stated that Minnesota needs to pick up a quality veteran quarterback in the likes of Donovan McNabb to teach the young Jackson and better prepare him for life in the NFL. I still believe that this is the key for success for Jackson in this league, and McNabb has stated he would like to come to Minnesota and teach the young Jackson. Jackson also has 5.8 yard rushing this season.

Minnesota receivers' have also picked up their game as well. Bobby Wade who still does not have a touchdown this season, has caught seven passes for 59 yards, for an average of 84 yards per catch, while Sydney Rice has become the play maker in catching five passes for 100 yards for an average of 20 yards per catch. Rice is also 2 for 2 on pass completions and has thrown for 94 yards. Rice's longest pass completion was two weeks ago against Oakland, when he hit Visanthe Shiancoe for 79 yards on the first play of the game. Last week Rice was on the receiving end of a 60 yard pass from Tarvaris Jackson for a touchdown. Rice has found himself in two very big plays for the Vikings in two weeks.

As for Minnesota's backfield in their two wins, they were absent one Adrian Peterson. Peterson was put out of the game early in the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers with a torn LCL in his knee. Since that time, the load of the caries has been put on the shoulders of Chester Taylor. Taylor has handled this role very well. In the past two weeks Chester has had 53 carries for 241 yards, for an average of 4.5 yards per carry. On the season Taylor has 114 carries for 545 yards, and averages 4.8 yards per carry. Taylor is probabley the best second running back in the league.

Offensively for the Vikings, they have the number one rushing offense in the NFL. With the one-two punch of Peterson and Taylor, Minnesota's backfield has racked up 173.3 yards per game. The Vikings will have Adrian Peterson in the backfield this week, and hopefully, Brad Childress will use him to his full potential. The Peterson-Taylor combination is the deadliest combination in the league, and behind the new Tarvaris Jackson, Minnesota looks to be one of the front runners for a Wild Card spot. Minnesota's offensive has put up more points in the past two weeks, than they have the rest of the season. The Vikings offense has scored 49 of their 70 points. The Vikings offense is now ranked 16th in the league with points per game.

Defensively Minnesota has been very successful. With their number one ranked rushing defense in the league, Minnesota has been a force to be reckoned with. They only allow 74.8 yards per game, and have been very dominant the last two weeks. In the Oakland game they only allowed 65 yards rushing off 22 carries for an average of 2.9 yards per carry. Last week in New York, they only allowed 75 yards on 19 carries for an average of 3.9 yards per carry. However, it has been our Viking pass defense that has been weak. They are ranked 31st in the league in passing defense and allow 158.8 yards per game. Even in the last two weeks they have allowed 308.5 yards per game, but have only given up three touchdowns. It has been that figure that has given the Vikings the edge recently. Last week alone the Vikings defense put up 21 points off of four interceptions, and in the past two weeks, the Vikings have forced four fumbles and five interceptions for a total of nine turnovers. Hopefully our Viking defense can keep playing at that level.

The past two weeks have been great for our Vikings. They have won two games in a row for the first time all season. The Viking offense has also put up 49 points, while their defense has added another 21 points. Jackson has more than doubled his pass completion ratio, and even had a passer rating of 139.2 last week. The Viking defense has forced nine turnovers and only allowed three touchdowns. With their recent playing potential, they have now climbed back into the playoff race, and are looking for some retribution and respect. Minnesota suffered an early season loss to these Lions, and need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. A win today will help boost our Vikings that much further up the list for the Wild Card spot and give them even a little more confidence. Hopefully our Vikings can play the same this week as they have the past two weeks and come away with a very important win.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!

Vikings ready for Raiders

The Minnesota Vikings have been preparing for the Oakland Raiders all week and are more than ready. The Oakland Raiders have an 8-3 all-time series lead over the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota will be without stud running back Adrian Peterson this week, who suffered an LCL tear last week against Green Bay. Peterson is projected to be out one week, but most realist believe 2-3 weeks. Although the LCL is the easiest muscle to repair in the knee, only a one week absence is unlikely.

Without Peterson in the line up, the Minnesota Vikings are turning to last seasons starter and top performer Chester Taylor. Last year Taylor rushed for 1,216 yards on 303 carries for an average of 4.0 yards per carry. Taylor's longest run was for a 95 yard touchdown, and his receiving yards were 288 yards on 28 receptions for an average of 6.8 yards per reception. Taylor also had 6 touchdowns and three fumbles. This season, Chester has rushed for 5.0 yards per carry by rushing for 304 yards on 61 carries. Taylor has only one touchdown and has lost one fumble. Although Taylor has a lot less carries than last season, he is still a huge threat to any team, and a great runner in the Viking backfield.

The Vikings will also have Mewelde Moore in the backfield. Moore has been a great back up since his inception in Minnesota. Moore now in his fourth season as a Viking, and has averaged 5.8 (2004), 4.3 (2005), 5.5 (2006), and 7.1 (2007) yards per carry. Moore has great speed, and should be used frequently in this weeks game to give Taylor a rest. The Vikings will also use full backs Tony Richardson and Naufahu Tahi.

Richardson is in his 13th season in the NFL and second with the Vikings. Richardson began his career in Kansas City and ended up in Minnesota in 2006. In his career, Richardson averages 4.0 yards per carry, and is looking for his first touchdown since 2002. He also has averaged 7.4 yards per reception in his career. This season, Richardson has only four carries for 10 yards, and 4 receptions for 23 yards, averaging 2.5 yards per carry and 5.8 yards per reception.

Naufahu Tahi is in his second season in the NFL. Tahi came to Minnesota through Cincinnatti via a trade at the 2006 NFL Draft. Tahi did not play last season, but has six games under his belt this year. Tahi has 2 carries for 6 yards, and no touchdowns. He also has 1 reception for 7 yards.

Minnesota is starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. This season Jackson is struggling like a raw rookie should be. Jackson has been put in the unfortunate situation of trying to lead his team to victory, but is basically in his rookie season. Jackson played in only four games last season and started the last two. Jackson has a 46.4% completion rating, and a 50.6% passer rating. Jackson has been forced by his coaches to not scramble, but linger in the pocket and try to pass the ball to an open receiver. Tarvaris is a very mobile quarterback and is being utilized very poorly. When allowed to run, Tarvaris has an average of 5.0 yards. On the season, Jackson has ran the ball 13 times for 65 yards, but has been injured a few times. Minnesota needs to teach this young man to slide before he gets hit, and his rushing yards will increase, while his injuries decrease.

Minnesota's receiving corps in probably the weakest in the league. With rookies Bobby Wade and Sidney Rice, and three year veteran Troy Williamson, Jackson has no one who is consistently catching the ball. Although the fault does not lay in the hands of just the receivers, there have been a lot of dropped passes that should be caught. Bobby Wade leads the way for the Viking receiving corps. Wade has 26 receptions for 313 yards and no touchdowns. Wade has an average of 12.0 yards per reception, and his longest reception of the season is 40 yards.

Sidney Rice is second on the team with 18receptions for 212 yards. Rice has an average of 11.8 yards per reception and two touchdowns. Rice's longest reception of the season is for 40 yards as well. Visanthe Shiancoe has 17 receptions on the season for 178 yards and one touchdown. Shiancoe has an average of 10.8 yards per reception, and his longest of the season is 25 yards. Finally, Troy Williamson is ranked seventh on the team in receptions with 9 on the season. Williamson does have a touchdown, which he actually caught for a 60 yard strike. Williamson is ranked behind running backs Adrian Peterson (15rec/220 yards), Chester Taylor (10rec/133 yards), and wide receiver Robert Ferguson (15rec/161 yards). Williamson has been a big disappointment since being drafted in the first round in 2005.

In order for the Vikings to win this game, Chester Taylor needs to touch the ball 25 times or more. Taylor's average yards increase as he warms up in a game. Taylor will thrive this week on once again being the teams leader in the backfield. Then Tarvaris Jackson, Bobby Wade, Sidney Rice, Robert Ferguson, and Troy Williamson must step up their game. Jackson must scramble to give himself a little more time to throw the ball, and Rice, Wade, Ferguson, and Williamson need to get open faster and catch the ball this week. Fewer dropped passes will increase their reception yardage as well. Finally, the Minnesota Viking offensive line must block for Jackson and give him more time in the pocket. The left side of the line with Matt Birk, Steve Hutchinson, Bryant McKinney and Jim Kleinsasser all do their jobs in blocking. However the right side of the line in Artis Hicks, and Ryan Cook need to block much better. When the opponent's defense is coming through he line, it's usually the right side letting them through.

Then there is the defense. The Viking rushing defense is superb and ranked third in the NFL. However, the pass defense is very weak in the secondary for some reason, and ranked 32nd in the NFL. The Viking pass defense must step it up like they did two weeks ago against San Diego. This Viking pass defense has shown the ability to slow teams down and stop the big plays. This is a must for the Vikings this week for a win.

This will be a very close game. The Vikings and Raiders are both playing for pride, as both teams are out of the playoff race. Minnesota needs to show some signs of life, and play up to their potential. Both teams are very tough, but have struggled all season. The Viking players and fans are equally excited to play against former teammate Daunte Culpepper.

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!!!!

Vikings Set to do Battle in Frozen Tundra

The (3-5) Minnesota Vikings enter the "Frozen Tundra" this weekend looking for revenge from a week four loss to the (7-1) Green Bay Packers. This bitter rivalry is now entering its 94th game in its history, with the Packers leading the series 47-45-1. These two teams met in week four, and it was Green Bay winning 23-16, thanks to a last minute interception off Kelly Holcomb.

This time it will be the Viking's back up quarterback Brooks Bollinger playing for the injured Kelly Holcomb and Tarvaris Jackson. This season, Bollinger is 17 of 24 passes for 215 yards and one touchdown. Bollinger's passer rating is at 112%, and he has been sacked four times this season and thrown no interceptions.

Minnesota's poor offensive performance this year was improved upon last week, as the Vikings newest stud running back Adrian Peterson rushed for 296 yards, three touchdowns, and caught one pass for 19 yards against San Diego. Peterson has been brilliant this season as he has rushed for over 100 yards in every game except week three against Kansas City, and week seven against Dallas. Adrian is also on pace to breaking Eric Dickerson's rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Adrian Peterson is 1,069 yards shy of breaking the record, with eight more games left to play. If Peterson can keep up the same pace in the next eight games, he will make the Eric Dickerson record chase very interesting. Peterson has already set a Viking record of having more than three 100 yard rushing games by a rookie, and two NFL records, as he rushed for over 200 yards twice in his rookie season, and has broken the single-game record of 295 yards rushing from Jamal Lewis, who set that record in 2003.

Peterson's counterpart Chester Taylor is averaging 4.6 yards per carry and scored his first touchdown of the season last week. Taylor was the Viking's number one running back last year and rushed for 1,216 yards, for an average of 4.0 yards per carry. With the emergence of Adrian Peterson and a two week absence due to injury, Taylor has only carried the ball 58 times this season for 267 yards. Taylor is still a vital part to this Minnesota running unit, as he gives a much needed break to Adrian Peterson, and is a great decoy when need be.

The Vikings passing offense has not been nearly as productive this season. The Vikings offense was criticised every week last season, as the brunt of the blame went to veteran quarterback Brad Johnson. This season the Vikings offensive woes have been partly blamed on rookie Tarvaris Jackson. However, the brunt of the blame should go to Brad Childress. Childress has put Tarvaris is a very precarious situation by having an unseasoned quarterback to lead this team. Jackson is fresh out of Alabama State University, and needs a few years of development in this league before being put in to lead any team. Jackson is very young, raw, and inexperienced. Jackson will be sidelined this week with a broken finger. Childress is also resting his offensive success on Sidney Rice, Troy Williamson, and Bobby Wade.

Bobby Wade has been the most productive receiver this season for the Vikings. Wade's 24 receptions for 284 yards leads the team for receiving. Unfortunately, Wade has not found the end zone. The next receiver for the Vikings has been Sidney Rice. Rice has 18 receptions for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Both Wade and Rice average 11.8 yards per reception, and they both have 40 yards for their longest pass reception. The big difference between the two is that Rice has found the end zone twice. As far as Williamson goes, it's been another disappointing season for him. He is fifth on the list for Viking receivers with 9 receptions for 159 yards and one touchdown. Williamson was drafted in 2005 for his speed, and has been ineffective. Williamson continually drops catchable passes, and in my opinion is looking at being cut next season.

This Vikings offense got a huge boost last week in their 35-17 victory over San Diego. Adrian Peterson led the team with 296 yards rushing off 30 carries. He had three touchdowns and a pass reception for 19 yards. His counterpart Chester Taylor had 9 receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown, while Sidney Rice had 4 receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Ryan Longwell was 5/5 in extra points and 0/1 in field goal attempts. Longwell missed a 57 yard field goal, which was run back 109 yards for a touchdown.

The Vikings need to do much of the same offensively this week. The Vikings need to have Adrian Peterson touch the ball 25 times, Chester Taylor touch the ball about 15-20 times, and mix it up a bit with some passes to Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade. Minnesota should also look at giving short slants to Troy Williamson, then let him use his speed to beat out defenders. If the Vikings can get productions from Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, like they did last week. You should be looking at another Viking victory.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!