Falcons only natural enemy: Vikings since 1998

Minnesota at Atlanta

Lessons in

Falcon Hunting

If the Falcons are looking to swoop in on injured prey, they may be in for a big suprise. While it is true that the Vikings have suffered some injuries this week, they still have the tools to pick apart the Falcon Defense. Any attempt at swoopage this week should be undertaken with extreme care as the Vikings bring the BAM! brothers (Moore, Williams) to do a little bit of hunting.

The Viking recieving corp will remain slighly less impressive this week with Nate Burleson out for the week. That just leaves Williamson, Robinson, Robinson, Taylor and Wiggins to catch the balls. Insert a reborn quarterback with a pair of regenerated legs and superman x-ray vision and it appears that the Falcons may be underestimating the ferocity of the Vikings pass attack. The BAM! brothers will hold down the backfield hopefully bring out the whoopin' stick against a defense that is primarly concerned with shutting them down. If our offensive line decides to actually play this week, or at least look like they are trying to play, we may have a stronger offense than the "experts" think.

The main problem with the so called "experts" is that thier analysis is based on a team with Randy Moss. They think that the Vikings are just a novelty offense that goes deep every chance they get. They forget to notice that Wiggins was one of our best players last year, and the Vikings are not afraid to drop the ball underneath and gain 7-8 yards on a simple out pattern. Anyone who has actually watched the Vikings the past couple of years would realize that we have a pretty solid offense, with or without Moss, based primarly on a three pronged strategy.

Prong number one - The deep ball.

Randy used to be the torch bearer in this most lethal of attacks, but since he has left that option has seemed to fade a little. Last week gave us hope that our deep division may be dangerous once again. Williamson proved himself worthy of catching the big ball last week. Seeing as he is a rookie and not given alot of respect, the time may be right for the Vikes to exploit his talent. This could be Williamson's coming out party as the Vikings will be looking to soften up the linebackers and safties with the deep ball. If the offensive line gives Daunte some time for a change, we may be able to fire a warning shot acroos thier bow, thus enabling Moore to run wild up the middle. The Falcons will not show enough respect to Williamson, Daunte has the gun to make the pass, The main players to watch are the offensive linemen. If they perform this week, look to see the deep ball as a viable option.

Prong number two - The short pass.

We don't love Wiggins because he is just so damn adorable. The man catches passes that get us first downs. He is a saftey valve when the recievers cannot find daylight. And when he does catch the ball, he puts some hurt on, ussually thundering forward for another couple of yards after first contact. Also a receiver running a little 5 and in ussually provides a couple of yards thus setting up a short second or third down. Daunte last week proved himself capable of seeing the open reciver and getting him the ball. There is a reason why Daunte has such a high completion percentage, he hits the little man that is uncovered. While the defense is always worried about the deep ball, they leave the little guys open to run wild. If the Vikings establish the short pass, they open up the deep ball. If they establish the deep ball, they open up the short pass. Daunte knows this, and the offensive co-ordinator ought to know this. Look for the Vikings spin the Falcons into a tail spin by switching between the bomb and the dump off.

Prong number three - The running game.

The Falcons have publically stated that this is their main concern this week. They feel if they can stop the run, they can defend the pass. The problem with that is, we have Moore and Williams. They can try to stop the running game, but they will be bruised and battered beyond belief before the 3rd quarter. Moore has a heart of gold and will not give up on a play no matter how many defenders are dragging him down. Williams is blood thirsty and plays the game soley to put big hits on linebackers. Look for the Vikings to pound the ball with Moore on first and second downs, then punish the defensive line on short third downs with Williams. The Falcons will either limp away in pain, or send more guys to defend the run, thus opening up the deep ball.

The Vikings are not the terrible offense that the "experts" say they are. We have a world class QB, above average recievers (one being underrated, Williamson) and bruising backs. The entire game still hinges on the offensive line though. If they decide to earn thier paychecks this week and give Daunte some time in the pocket, look for a shocking offensive output. If they play like they have for the past 3 weeks, look for some struggle in keeping up with Vick.

The Defense is looking to follow up with a solid performance even though we are missing Sharper and posslibly Udeze this week. Brian Williams does not matter, in fact I would say that the absense of Williams may save a few touchdowns. As always, the Vikings will have to place a spy on Vick thus limiting our blizting options. The blitz was a key component of last weeks win against the Saints. We will need good coverage from our corners, good play recognition from our linebackers, and some individual drive from the d-line. Just going up against Vick is enough to strike fear into the hearts of the best defenses, let alone an injured defense. Vick essentailly makes defenses into individual efforts. The line has to provide the extra pressure because a spy is ussually needed thus limiting the complexitites of the blitzes. Corners have to play great man to man, and line backers have to recognize that Vick may take off for no reason at all. Vick is a mental nightmare and look for the Vikings defense to struggle against him.

Probably the biggest factor in this game is the overconfidence of the Falcons. From reading around today, they don't seem to be taking this game too seriously. They forget that they are going up against a revitialized Vikings squad looking to prove they belong in the Super Bowl. Knocking off the Falcons would send a very strong statement. The Falcons seem to be taking this game as just another day at the office. They seem to lack motivation. Keep in mind what happens when a team loses motivation, Vikings 8 Bengals 37. Look for a very close game that hinges upon the performance of the Vikings offensive line.

Predictions

Vikings 24 - Falcons 21
GameDay Heros - Troy Williamson, and Winfield

GameDay Goat - The offensive line will prove suffcient for a win, but give up too many sacks.

Once again, don't forget to wear all your lucky gear this week, or sit in your lucky chair, and drink the beer out of your lucky hand. We need more luck this week than last week. Also no one wear a Vikings visor. If we lose and I find out someone wore a Vikings visor, I will hunt you down.

Mr. Weatherstone

Running Back Controversy

What was a controversy in the first few weeks of the season, seems to have resolved itself. The battle between Moore and Bennett took a turn towards conclusion last week with Moore winning the day.

Moore Rushed for 101 yards in the Vikings big win last week. While the numbers are somewhat impressive, this is not the reason Moore should win the starting position.One can argue that Moore had more carries last week than Bennett. Hence he would naturally have more yards. In fact Moore had about 13 times more carries than Bennett. One can argue that Bennett could have gained just as many yards had he gotten the ball more than twice. If your looking strictly at the numbers, it does appear that Moore had a better oppurtunity to prove himself last week and Bennett is just being shelved with out being given a chance. BUT . . . numbers mean nothing. Daunte Culpepper could throw for 400 yards in a big loss, that does not mean he did a good job. What really defines the quality of a player is heart. Moore showed great heart last week, Bennett seemed almost bothered by the idea that he had to go to work on Sunday.

Case in point #1 - Moore's great effort in breaking a 9 yard run out of what should have been a 4 yard loss. The guy never gave up. What should have been a great stop for the Saints defense, turned up netting the Vikings 9 very valueable yards. This indicates one thing . . . heart, and tons of it. The guy sitting next to me in the bar said he looked a little like Barry Sanders. I will not go as far as Barry Sanders, but Moore showed that he really wanted to play in this league.

Case in point #2 - The guy hit the hole with authority all game long. More than once I thought Moe Williams was in the game. Moore was not looking to just run with the ball, he was looking to hurt people. It almost seemed as if he was going out of his way to hit a defender, just to make him look silly. I swear I saw flames come out his nose right before he hit the line. He was a man on a mission. . . the mission to cause as much destruction and pain in the Saints defensive line as possible. I would not have cared if the Vikings had lost the game last week, I justed loved to see Moore bring out the whoopin' stick. It brings out the inner caveman in all of us.

Case in point #3 - While Bennett only had a few rushes all game, he did nothing with them. I am not entirely sure, but I think Bennett had 2 rushes and 2 yards. It may be true that the line did not open up great holes for Bennett, but they didn't for Moore either. It may have been true that Moore recieved better play calling than Bennett. But the end result was Bennett striding up to the line of scrimage, finding the hole with the greatest number of defenders, and then falling down. He showed absolutely no effort in either of his rushes, no desire, no drive, and no motivation. He had no heart.

Coach Tice probably made the decision to run with Moore the majority of the game before weeks end. Bennett thus had 2 choices, one was to give an all out effort to accomplish the most out of every oppurtunity, or two, he could give up, whine and pout, and give a half assed effort. Bennett chose the latter of the two options. Moore on the other hand had to prove himself, of which he did.

Heart and motivation not only affects how an individual player does, but it also has a great effect upon a team and the fans. Do any of you remember how excited you got after Moe Williams laid out a Bronco defender a few years ago? I wanted to rape and pilliage the nieghborhood. I am pretty sure the Vikings also recieved a great boost of moral from such a fine example of heart. It is for this reason that I am now switching my alliance from Bennett to Moore. Bennett does not inspire respect, Moore demands it. Dare I say that he looked a little like Chris Walsh last week? Keep it up Moore, keep looking for people to hurt.

Moore for running back in '05'

Mr. Weatherstone

Vikings 33 - Saints 16

What? What? Who said that Dante would not throw for 300 yards, 3 Touchdowns, 0 Interceptions, 0 fumbles and a 75% completion percentage? It wasn't me, as far as I can remember, that is EXACTLY what I predicted. The only thing I didn't get right was the final score. I had Vikes winning 31-17.

Dante had his roll on within the first 13 seconds of the game as the Vikings jumped out to an early lead over the Saints. Following a fumbled Saints kick return, Dante threw a beautiful pass to Travis Taylor, who in turn dragged his feet to complete the quickest touchdown in Vikings histroy. The Vikings defense continued the hot start by forcing a 3 and out on the first Saints possession. Follow that with a 6 minute drive based primarly upon the rushing game and a 28 yard run by Moore, kick a field goal, Bam! Vikes up 10-0. The only fault one could find with the first two drives was the 3rd and 1 call in the red zone, where Dante throws a Cris Carter fade to Marcus Robinson. That play had a small chance of succeding, and was especially dumb since we needed only 1 yard to get a fresh set of downs. Maybe I was just a little blood thirsty at that point, but I would have liked to see some better play calling in the red zone.

The defense followed up with another 3 and out, and the Viking offense drove deep into Saints territory again, only to bounce a field goal off the right goal post. Follow that up with a Viking pick on 3rd down, a five play drive that culminates with another Tayol touchdown, kick the extra point, Vikings 17-0. Follow that up with a rookie bomb to Troy Williamson, Vikings 24-0. Essentially the game was over at this point. The Viking defense played thier hearts out this week. Interceptions by Newman and Winfield, and 2 recovered fumbles left the Saints shaking thier heads in disgust. Great blitiziing schemes by Cotrell confused Brooks all day as he completed just 12 of 32 passes and was sacked 3 times. Great individual coverage downfield allowed the line to force pressuere on Brooks, subsequently making him throw off balanced the entire game. The second half was a little bit of a let down for the defense as they seemed to become comfortable with the large lead. But the end result is ussually all that matters, and the defense played like warriors today. And lets not forget the great efforts of the special teams this week. They started the game with a bang, Kluwe punted the ball with a bang, and Owens hit people with a bang. Special teams have been our only consistent performers this year, they deserve a little pat on the back for holding strong today.

Dante! Was I right or was I right? 300 yards passing, dead-on accurate. 3 Touchdowns, dead-on accurate. 0 Interceptions, dead-on accurate. 0 Fumbles, dead-on accurate. 72.5% completion percentage, close. If Marcus Robinson would have held on to an easy catch in the 3rd quarter I would have been dead-on accurate. By far the most impressive thing I saw today was Culpepper's willingness to take the ball and run. We must remember that this guy 6'4" 265 lbs of pure muscle. If he wants to run, not many people will get in his way, at least not sane people. I've seen this guy lay out linebackers before. His size is a great asset and it adds another dimension to the Viking offense. In addition to the running, he was brilliant in his throw selections today. He saw the open reciever and got him the ball. He did make a few errent passes that could have resulted in more touchdowns, but he did not force anything this week. He looked calm, composed, breathing smoke and throwing fire. This is all despite the fact that the offensive line really let him down today. 7 sacks, yet he still looked like a Norse god. Dante rose above last week's humiliation and proved himself a man today.

Mr. Moore came out fire breathing today as he rushed for 101 yards on only 23 attempts. Numbers do not tell the true story though, Moore never gave up on any play. He fought for yards like Williams, he ran in the open field like Bennett, he showed the heart of Chris Walsh. This guy earned every yard he ran today. The offensive line did help out a little, but hte majority of his yards came from his own efforts. Bennett on the other hand, saw the ball very little today, did not benefit from great play calling, and did nothing with the ball once he got it. A very dissappointing day for Bennett. Considering the great performance we saw from Moore, I would not be suprised to see Bennett being floated around with some trade rumors. The Vikings seem like they just don't want him. I will be sorry to see the guy go anyhow. I always had faith in him.

All in all, a great game by the Vikings today in every aspect. Like I stated earlier this week, this was the most important game of the year for us. If we would have laid down, our season would have been essentially over. But we did not lay down, we stood up like the men we are, grabbed the Saints by the ears and slammed thier heads into the floor. We came out looking for babies to eat, old ladies to push to the floor, and little girls to punch in the face. The Vikings came out and proved they were a truly mean bunch today, definetly of Super Bowl caliber. Make your reservations to Detroit now, book your hotel rooms, and buy all the helga horns you can find. We the bandwagon comes to Minnesota, you need to be prepared.

GameDay Hero - Dante Culpepper, 300yds, 3 TD's 0 Int's 72.5% completion
GameDay Hero - Richard Ownes, great all around effort on Special teams
Game Day Hero - Fred Smoot, he did not have stats, but great one on one coverage.

GameDay Goat - Paul Edinger, while he may have made 4/5 field goals, one being 48 yars, serisously, he missed a 33 yarder . . . then had the balls to smile afterwards. Good performance today, but don't smile when you screw up something routine.

Skol Vikings Skol

Mr. Weatherstone

Vikings 8 - Bengals 37

Vikings 8 - Bengals 37
Tice : "You do know that Brad Johnson is on this team too, correct?"

Worst Game Ever!!!!

Game analysis Goats
EVERYONE!!!!

Seriously, this defense looked like swiss cheese. I am actually suprised that they only scored 37. Every run went for big yards, every pass was completed with tons of cushion. Every drive seemed to strike the Vikings in the heart.

On Offense, every pass was picked. Every draw snuffed out. Every moderatly light hit produced a fumble.

I have never in the past 20 years seen the Vikings look this bad. This was a blowout of Super Bowl proportions. One team was never in the game, one team looked like a collection of gods. Honestly, the Bengals could never be confused with gods. . . except for today. We are fast becoming the Kansas City Royals of the NFL. Dante Culpepper had a rating of 10.3 before his final interception. I tried to find what it was after the game, but I think everyone was embarassed to print it. Dante has now thrown 8 picks this year, and 0 touchdowns. Where is Ryan Leaf when you need him? The team as a whole has 1 offensive touchdown in 2 games, and 1 defensive touchdown. Maybe we should put Sharper in as a wide reciever.

The defense is not immune to criticsim this week either. They do not have the excuse of the offense keeping them out there too long, they were out thier on thier own volition. They did prove themselves capable to avoiding tackles, as the offense proved themselves capapble of breaking down protection and creating interceptions.

Like I stated earlier, this was the worst loss in my 20 years of watching the Vikes. I was embarassed to wear the hat, I was embarrassed to wear the jersey. I was embarassed to be from the midwest. There is only one thing you can say about a loss like this, maybe it will be a wake up call for everyone. But Hey, our punter did a fantastic job once again!!!!

Damn Vikings.

Vikings at Bengals

Vikings v. Bengals

Battle of the ???

or

Jungle Hunting

The Vikings head to Cincinanti this week to face the Bengals. Stumbling out of the Blocks last week which led to an eventual loss, the Vikings look to redeem themselves and do some Jungle Hunting for some Bengals meat. The Bengals are coming off a win last week against Cleveland, ohhhhhh, the big bad Browns, cupcakes of the NFL. The Bengals will be going up against a fantastic defense, and an offense that is looking to correct the mistakes of last week.

Unlike popular FOX, ESPN, and CBS analysist, the Vikings do have life after Randy. But I guess that is the kind of sports reporting you get the figure heads at a studio don't watch the game, but just regurgitate the stats. The Defense held strong last week, but they were jsut on the field too long. The Offense was serverly hampered by a swiss cheese line, and Fumble Fingers McGoo. In actuality, we had a chance late in the game to win, but failed to come through in the clutch due to a tipped pass. Overall the offense showed signs of life last week, and the Defense looked rock solid when it had too.

The line on the game favors the Bengals by 3 points. If you are a betting man, take this and run. The Vikings are greatly underranked by this line and should show up on sunday with punishment in store for the odds makers. But like I said earlier, thats the kind of analysis you get when you look just at the numbers and not the watch the game.

Predictions

Vikings 31 Bengals 10 - take that line and suck it!

Gameday hero's

Dante Culpepper will throw for 250+ yards.

Sharper will have a pick and a few great hits.

Gameday Goats

Brian Williams will let a touchdown slip by as ussual.

Bennett will gain a sizeable amount of yards but forget we are playing tackle foot ball and go down after first touch.

Skol Vikings Skol.

Bucs 24 - Vikings 13

Tampa Bay 24 Minnesota 13

Sharper and hit MEGA HIT

The defense came out swinging today and look pretty good through out considering they were on the field much more than they should have been. Except for the 4th quarter meaningless touchdown, the Vikings shut out the Bucs in the second half after the offense started giving them small breaks in the action. The first half scoring could be largley attributed to lack of Minnesota offense and the defense just wearing out. It was proven that when they are given a break, they perform great. The problem was, they weren't given a break.

Dante continued his fumbling ways today. All the improvement that we saw last year, gone in one quarter. Fumble after fumble continued to put pressure on a tired defense to step up one more time. There is a limit to what these guys can do though. One exception to the great defense was whipping boy Brian Williams. Seriously, who let this guy put on a uniform.

Edinger has one hell of a foot, and not to forget the punter. We saw way to much of how good the punter can be today, but none the less, he is still very good. Special teams really stepped up today. It was another bright spot that was ultimately useless thanks to the offense.

I know it is a weak way to explain a loss, but the refs had a huge effect and impact on the game. I don't know if Wiggins had slept with the refs wife the night before, but they would not let him get a touchdown without throwing a phantom flag. Offensive interfernce? Not really. That play right there took 4 points off the board, and another 4 were taken off in the 4th quarter off of a stupid call. Talk about killing a drive, the refs really had a red ass for Wiggins today.

I dont feel like talking about the game anymore today. I will leave it at this. I am going to go cry now.

Skol Vikings

Bucs vs. Vikings

Bucs vs. Vikings

12pm Central

In the DOME.

The Bucs come back to town again after leaving the division a few years ago. Along for the ride, the Vikings will welcome back Chris Hovan, last years biggest disappointment. I was a big fan of Hovan and nearly purchased one of his jerseys, until he started to suck. But we will always have the memories of him and Favre, then Favre crying. Way to go Hovan.

Another reunion will be Brad Johnson and the Bucs. Brad Johnson, after leaving the Vikings, led the Bucs to thier only Super Bowl win against the Raiders a few years ago. Now he faces his former team with head set and play cards, pacing the sideline next to Tice. But it is still nice to know that we have him back on our sideline, he seems to be our good luck charm.

The Buccaneers - Vikings "rivalry" is renewed this weekend. I hesitate to call it a rivalry because the Bucs just plain stunk up the league when they were in our division. I dreaded playing them every year because it was like testing to see if a gun was loaded by sticking it to your head and pulling the trigger. Nothing good could come out of it, or it was a best pointless. The best you could hope for is what you expected, nothing. And this year seems to be no different, the Bucs are back up to thier losing ways again lately. All we can really do is hope that the gun is not loaded. There was never really a rivalry, the Bucs were just the red-headed step children of the NFC Central. No one hated them enough to notice them, but they stepped up and bitch slapped us every now and again. Hence the quotation marks around "rivalry."

The Vikings defense looks to solidify this week, or at least turn into some type of sticky liquid. Preseason proved that nothing has really changed all that much. We are still blowing a lot of hot gas around, and accomplishing nothing. Picked to be one the biggest improvements in the NFL in the offseason, the Vikes defense has yet to live up to even half of its promise.

But fear not, the Vikes offense seems to be on point once again this year. Culpepper is gearing up for an MVP season. His development over the past 2 years has been phenomanal. he is acurate, he's got the cannon, and he has become brilliant. For the first time since he came to this league, this team is his. Honestly, I could not be happier. He worked hard to get to this point and all his work shows every week with astronomical completion percentages, yards, and vision that Superman would envy. But what about the running game? Hopefully we can produce a little better than what preseason showed we could do. That may be a big factor in the passing game, if we can't run we may not be able to pass either.

PREDICTIONS

Score - Vikings 27 Bucs 17

Offensive performer - Dante Culpepper

Defensive performer - Williams (no, not Brian Williams)

Offensive goat - McKinney

Defensive goat - Brian Williams

Skol Vikings Skol

Vikings Roster

From ESPN.com here is the Vikings Season opening Roster

OFFENSE

Quaterbacks
11 Daunte Culpepper QB
13 Shaun Hill QB
14 Brad Johnson QB

Running Backs
23 Michael Bennett RB
35 Ciatrick Fason RB
30 Mewelde Moore RB
20 Moe Williams RB

Wide Recievers
81 Nate Burleson WR
16 Kelly Campbell WR
82 Keenan Howry WR
87 Marcus Robinson WR
89 Travis Taylor WR
19 Troy Williamson WR

Tight Ends
83 Jeff Dugan TE
40 Jim Kleinsasser TE
49 Richard Owens TE
85 Jermaine Wiggins TE

Centers
78 Matt Birk C
67 Melvin Fowler C
46 Cullen Loeffler C
60 Cory Withrow C

Tackles
73 Adam Goldberg OT
74 Bryant McKinnie OT
75Mike Rosenthal OT

Guards
67 Anthony Herrera OG
72 Marcus Johnson OG
76 Chris Liwienski OG

DEFENSE

Defensive Ends
99 Erasmus James DE
51 Lance Johnstone DE
98 Darrion ScottDE
95 Kenechi Udeze DE

Defensive Tackles
97 Spencer Johnson DT
90 Steve Martin DT
96 C.J. Mosley DT
93 Kevin Williams DT
94 Pat Williams DT

Linebackers
55 Sam Cowart LB
50 Rod Davis LB
58 Napoleon Harris LB
56 E.J. Henderson LB
52 Keith Newman LB
57 Raonall Smith LB
54 Dontarrious Thomas LB

Cornerbacks
33 Ralph Brown CB
36 Devonte Edwards CB
28 Laroni Gallishaw CB
22 Ken Irvin CB
27 Fred Smoot CB
29 Brian Williams CB
26 Antoine Winfield CB

Safties
21 Corey Chavous S
24 Willie Offord S
42 Darren Sharper S

New Face to the Recieving Corps

ESPN has broken some news that Koren Robinson, formerly of the Seachickens, has agreed in principal to drunkdrive his ass to Minnesota. I honestly beleive that he should be a welcome addition to a corps that is not yet proven. Here is the link to his stats http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5456 . If we use him wisely, he may become another Cris Carter. If we don't he could become a Jake Reed in a post 1998 world. This will be a test of Coach Tice in his ability to mold trouble players into productive members of the Vikings society. Obviously he failed with Onterio Smith (S.O.B.). Robinson is expected to miss the season opener, but should be ready for our trip to Cincinatti. We'll see how it goes.


Skol Vikings

Vikings 23 Seachickens 21

Culpepper is still striking fear into every defenseman on the field, and all Madden players.

The Vikings looked alright last night as Culpepper continued to score in the first quarter, and ended up with an astonishing 85% completion percentage for the preseason. But preseason numbers don't get printed in the record books, they merely give an indication of things to come. It looks like a huge year for Dante, the recieving corps and Edinger.

Edinger will most likely become the Vikings kicker this year seeing as Elling is out with a boo boo. No one ever expected kickers to be tough in the first place. But having Edinger as a kicker is not such a bad thing. After all he did make the game winning kick yesterday in a game that meant nothing as the clock ran down. But at least we know he can make the kicks. Kicking, while it holds a bitch place on the football team, can make the greatest of teams crappy, and the worst of teams great. (Prime example was Gary Anderson) So for now, in Edinger we trust.

Defensively, the Vikings looked like the Vikings of old, circa 1999-2004. Seriously, we went out and bought this great secondary this year and it seems to be defective. If these guys can't get thier shit together, we may face another year like 1998, offensive powerhouse team that ends up just short because of the defense. It is a defense like this that makes the kicking game that more important. One missed field goal may mean the loss of the game if we can't stop the other team from scoring. Ted Catrell better get this team in shape for next week. Remember the standard cliche "Defense wins championships." How else could have the Ravens gone the distance.

To end on a great note, like I stated earlier, Dante looked great this preseason. He only threw one interception, had over an 85% completion rating, and scored in nearly every first quarter. Combine that with his huge build and ability to bulldoze over the line on 3rd or 4th and shore, I am beginning to smell MVP.

The Buccaneers are first on our hit list this year. Brad Johnson will only be there for moral support hopefully. But I would not be terribly disappointed if he had to play. The latest power rankings have the Vikings at an underated #4 and the Bucs at #27. Just as long as the Vikes don't take this game for granted, we should be able to start off the season with a spectacular victroy in front of the Metrodome faithful. The keys to the game should be the Viking defense, the running game and the if the recievers can get open.

"We have the technology, we can rebuild him." Vikings run to the superbowl 2005.

Skol Vikings Skol