Vikings Review

Chad Greenway Signs contract

2006-07-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Vikings have signed all thier draft picks just in time for camp to start.

Terms of the Deal according to St. Paul Pioneer:
10.75 million over 5 years
1.35 million roster bonus for 2006
5.11 million option bonus next spring
1 million for meeting the mininmun playing time over the next for years

It is really good that we were able to sign this guy before camp starts and give him an oppurtunity to be fully integrated into the NFL system. He will have the maximum amount of time to learn and impress coaches, and it signals to the rest of the team that he is one of them . . . selfless service to the great cause of the Vikings. This timely signing which seems a little small for a first round pick, signals that Chad Greenway may be the next hero for Minnesotans, South Dakotans, North Dakotans, Iowans, and Vikings fans around the world. So far Greenway has shown himself to be a real class act.

Skol,

Vikings Review

2006 Vikings Schedule Predictions

2006-07-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here trying to think of the most irrelevant thing that I could possibly do right now. What I have come up with is a prediction on how the Vikings will do against thier opponents this year. It is mostly irrelevant because pre-season has not even started yet. . . and I am using a coin flip. Thus the pointless endevour will be undertaken to test my psychic abilities later in the season.

Using the "Nickel of Destiny" the Heads means win tails means loss.
Heads = Vikings . . . Tails = the Other guys

Pre-Season

Vikings vs. Raiders - Tails, Oakland wins
Vikings at Pittsburgh - Heads!!! - Vikings win
Vikings vs. Ravens - Heads!!! - Vikings win
Vikings at Cowboys - Tails, Cowboys win

Preseason Record 2-2

Regular Season

Vikings at Redskins - Heads, 1-0
Vikings vs Panthers - Tails, 1-1
Vikings vs Bears - Heads, 2-1
Vikings at Bills - Heads, 3-1
Vikings vs Lions - Heads, 4-1
Vikings at Seahawks - Heads, 5-1
Vikings vs Patriots - Heads, 6-1
Vikings at 49ers - Heads, 7-1
Vikings vs Packers - Heads, 8-1
Vikings at Dolphins - Tails, 8-2
Vikings vs Cardinals - Heads, 9-2
Vikings at Bears - Tails, 9-3
Vikings at Lions - Heads, 10-3
Vikings vs Jets - Heads, 11-3
Vikings at Packers - Heads, 12-3
Vikings vs Rams - Tails, 12-4

Final Record according to the "Nickel of Destiny!!!" 12-4 with a 5-1 Divisional Record.

The "Nickel of Destiny" never lies.

Rest of the League Standings

AFC EAST
------------------
Bills 10-6
Pats 8-8
Jets 8-8
Dolphins 6-10

AFC North
---------------------
Ravens 8-8
Bengals 8-8
Browns 8-8
Steelers 8-8

AFC South
------------------------
Texans 9-7
Jags 8-8
Titans 7-9
Colts 6-10

AFC West
-------------------------
Raiders 10-6
Broncos 9-7
Chiefs 8-8
Chargers 5-11

NFC East
------------------------
Cowboys 10-6
Giants 10-6
Eagles 9-7
Redskins 8-8

NFC North
---------------------------
Vikings 12-4
Lions 7-9
Packers 7-9
Bears 6-10

NFC South
----------------------------
Panthers 10-6
Saints 10-6
Falcons 7-9
Bucs 7-9

NFC West
----------------------------
Rams 10-6
Cardinals 9-7
49ers 7-9
Seahawks 1-15

----------------------------------------------------------------
Playoffs
----------------------------------------------------------------
AFC
Wild Card
--------------------
Raiders - bye
Bills - bye

Texans vs. Pats - Patriots
Broncos vs. Ravens - Ravens

Divisional
---------------------
Raiders vs Patriots - Patriots
Bills vs Ravens - Bills

AFC Championship
----------------------------------
Bills vs. Patriots - Patriots

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NFC
Wild Card
--------------------------------
Vikings - Bye
Panthers - Bye

Saints vs Rams - Saints
Giants vs Cowboys - Cowboys

Divisional Playoffs
----------------------------------------
Panthers vs Cowboys - Cowboys
Vikings vs Saints - Vikings

NFC Championship Game
---------------------------------------
Vikings vs. Cowboys - Vikings

SUPER BOWL!!!!
-------------------------------------
Vikings vs Patriots - Vikings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VIKINGS WIN THE SUPER BOWL!!!!

You heard it here first, the Vikings will win the Super Bowl. The "Nickel of Destiny" does not lie. What is really crazy is that this was done honestly. I actually flipped a coin for each and every game of every team including the playoffs, no cheating or favoring the Vikings with second flips. The "Nickel of Destiny" deems it so . . . Vikings win the Super Bowl.

Looking forward to a super (Bowl) year,

Skol
Vikings Review

Vikings College Graduates

2006-07-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Vikings Review is a little interested in the type of team the organization has been putting together here recently. As part of this inquiry, I have compiled a list of those Vikings who took the time in College to actually get a degree . . . as crazy as that sounds.

Matt Birk - Harvard, Economics
Jason Palermo - Wisconsin, Agriculral Journalism
R.J. Cobbs - UMass, Sociology
Dustin Fox - Ohio State, Communications
Spencer Johnson - Sociology, Auburn
Kevin Williams - Oklahoma State, General Studies
Anthony Herrera - Tennessee, Sociology
Chris Liewinski - Indiana, Outdoor Resource Management
Ryan Longwell - UC Berkely, English
Rod Davis - Southern Miss, Business Administation
Chad Greenway - Iowa, Communications
Napoleon Harris - Northwestern, Communications
EJ Henderson - Maryland, Criminal Justice / Criminlogy
Dontarrious Thomas - Auburn, Management Information Systems
JT O'Sullivan - UC Davis, English
Adimchinobe Echemandu - UC Berkely, Sociology
Joey Goodspeed - Notre Dame, Management
Mewelde Moore - Tulane, Finance / Accounting
Tony Richardson - Auburn, B.S.Ed Education - Webster University, MBA
Chester Taylor - Toledo, Sports management
Greg Blue - Georgia, Child and Family Development
Daren Sharper - William and Mary, Sociology
Tank Williams - Stanford, Political Science
Seab Bubin - Illinois, Liesure Studies / Sports Management
Adam Goldberg - Wyoming, Finance
Jermaine Wiggins - Georgia, Child and Family Services
Christopher Jones - Jackson State, Criminal Justice

Those are the guys who actually received a degree, just so you know.

Skol to everyone on the list above,
Vikings Review

Off Season SUCKS!!!

2006-07-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

With the offseason wrapping up here in the next few weeks and the Vikings heading off to camp, the fans in the glacial region of the midwest finally have something to look forward to again. Gone will be the lazy days of watching the Twins and Brewers go through the motions in divisions unwinable. Gone will be the days of waking up to the headlines of "Royals Shutout again." The paper bags will be retired for another year and the glares of Reggie Sanders into the left field stands, aimed directly at 3 dedicated fans pronouncing thier disgust for the team, will cease. Football is around the corner!!!

Ask fellow Vikings fans about the future of the upcoming season and you will get mixed responses. Some feel that Brad Childress will require at least a year before we can make an evaluation on his head coaching talent. Some say that Wilf does not have enough experince yet in running a professional football team. Some are weary about the quarterback and running back situations. Some feel that there is no clear cut leader of the recieving corps. These are all very valid and very real concerns, which have only been magnified by the amount of transition and time for second guessing during the off-season.

The reality remains that no one really knows how next year will shape out. Brad Johnson will turn 84 this year, but he has been a consistent winner throughout his career as a starter. Our running back stable is chocked full of guys who are hungry to make a name for themselves but yet unproven. Our recievers are all above average, but no one is really a super-star. We have 3 #2 guys taking the field this year. Our defense has a history of being very shaky, but they really gelled last year to bring us back into the playoff hunt. Only time will tell, and now that the offseason is wrapping up and we get to actually see these guys in action in a few weeks, speculation is nearing an end.

But . . . offseason is not over yet, and there should be at least one more crackpot pronouncing his predictions for the year based on . . . well, basically nothing but intuition. Vikings Review will top off the offseason speculation with a petrified perfect pre-preseason prediction. (Say that 5 times fast, then send me an email telling me how pointless that endeveur was.)

Over the next few days I will try to give a bit of prediction upon the value of the:

Quarterbacks, Running Backs, O-Line, Recievers, D-Line, Linebackers, Secondary, Special Teams, and the Front Office.

Quarterback Situation?

Vikings Review has always had a soft spot for Brad Johnson. The only words I have uttered in anger over Brad Johnson have been to a little kid asking why Brad Johnson was not a secert player in the Super Nintendo version of NBA Jam . . . "Shut up about Brad Johnson!!!" I have always had faith in Brad since the days when he was a 3rd stringer rising up to take over for Warren Moon. Even during the amazing season of 1998, I was secretly hoping that Brad would come back fromhis injury to take over the team. He was subsequently traded in favor keeping Cunningham . . . then he went on to win a Super Bowl without us. But you always had to feel good about the guy, he was never a great quarterback in terms of ability, but his leadership skill was acheived by none.

Brad Johnson still sucks in terms of talent. Some might even say that he sucks even more now that he is older. But ther are things that he does do and does not do that allows him to put his team in position to win games.

1 - He does not turn the ball over. Vikings fans need not lose any more nights sleep over a quarterback with "hands too small" or poor decision making skills. We do not need to worry about the receivers carrying the quarterback inorder to win games. Daunte is gone and all the excuses we made to defend him can also be retired. Brad Johnson makes wise decisions on who to throw the ball to, when to throw it, and he will stay in the pocket and trust his line. I am under the firm belief that the defense was able to perform beautifully during the last half of last season due to the decrease in the number of turnovers. There is an old addage that says "What you don't do is often times just as important as what you do do." So we have that going for us . . .

2 - Brad Johnson is a proven leader and a proven winner with the attitudes to match. How else can you explain a guy with no real arm leading the Vikings into playoff contention last year. As soon as Brad took over the team last year, one could immediatly see the change in attitude the team undertook. With the "Love Boat" scandal hanging over our heads, and national media . . . and ESPN stopping thier T.O. coverage to denounce the Vikings, Brad lifted the team out of its ashes and made headlines by winning games. He was able to inspire the team at the critical moments, beating or achilles heel (Giants) with a 4th quarter drive into field goal range. Guys started to play inspired, as if they actually went out there to win games. This is also not an isolated incident either, when Brad took over for Moon, the same thing happend. He is a great leader of men despite his lack of skills. Would we rather have a superstar that has tremendous skills but cannot inspire the rest of his team, or one average guy that can bring out the best skills of the rest of his team despite his averageness? I would prefer the latter.

Tarvaris Jackson - The Backup?

We know nothing about this kid. He came out of a D-II school hidden away somewhere in the deep south. Many called him a steal in the draft, many said he was taken too early. Some say that he does not have the high level experince to make it in the NFL, others compare him to Mike Vick . . . only with quarterback skills. If Brad breaks his hip sometime this year, Jackson may be the guy that we are going to be seeing lining up behind the center.

What we do know is that in D-II he was mobile, he had a great arm, and he was accurate. Jerry Rice came out of a very small school outside the norm of "experince building" universities such as Miami. Adam Timmerman came out of a South Dakota school, and countless others have made solid names out of the smaller schools. This leads me to believe that it is not the school you come out of and the competition you face, but the level of heart which you play the game with. We know nothing about T.J. and thus it would be absolutly foolish to try and describe the amount of heart that he plays the game with, but with the skills he is supposed to have . . . any heart that he has is well backed by his skills.

Overall the quarterback situation is murky at best. Can Brad stay healthy, can T.J. learn quick enough to take over if Brad goes down? Is T.J. a leader? Are Brad's leadership skills good enough to cover his age? With quarterback being such an important position, these are questions, that when answered may shape our entire season.

Vikings Review fearless prediction on the Quarterback situation:

Brad Johnson will lead this team to a division title, although he will miss a few games due to a small injury. T.J. will win one and lose one, but gain valuable experince. Brad will then lead the team to the Super Bowl . . .

Feel free to post a comment . . . all are welcome.

Skol!!!!

Vikings Review

Vikings 1st Round Pick - Chad Greenway

2006-04-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

Vikings take Mt. Vernon native Chad Greenway in the 1st round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Being from South Dakota, I can guarentee that he has already gone down in Dakota lore. South Dakotans have this uncanny ability to remember anyone who makes it big. Actually it is not so suprising . . . we only have to remember 5 to 6 names. (Dick Howser, Lyle Alzado, Kliensasser, Mary Hart, the original Daisy Duke, and Tom Brokaw)

Vikings Review is especially stoked about this selection, first it is a South Dakota boy, secondly he came out of Iowa, and lastly . . . he is quick with great instincts.

Greenway should fit very nicely with the new Vikings. First of all he appears to be a hard working TEAM player. Something that is very rare, and undervalued. The Vikings appear to be going in the direction of lesser names in terms of endorsement dollars, but rather going after players who have heart and are willing to play the game right. (Think Patriots structure). Secondly, he is a South Dakotan and should garner at least the same type of fan love that Kliensasser recieves. Dakotans know thier own and embrace thier own. Hell we loved Todd Bouman before he was traded. Third, he is quick. One of the main liablities for the Vikings defenses in the past two years has been the lack of good and quick linebackers. While Greenway may not make an instantly HUGE splash in his first year, he should be a solid player until he develops into a perrenail pro bowler.

Once again, pride of South Dakota . . . Pride of Iowa . . . New pride of the Vikings.

Skol, we are going ashore and buring the ships . . . Super Bowl or Bust Baby!!!!

Vikings Review

New Helmet

2006-04-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Here is the new horn on the Helmet. I can dig it!

New Vikings Uniform Photos

2006-04-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

The pictures were seen on www.kfan.com . . . thus I cannot lay claim that I took them. But they are pretty cool and I thought they should be shown.

Evolution of the Vikings Jersey

Pictures of the New Jerseys . . . leave a comment as to what you think

NEW VIKINGS UNIFORMS (OFFICIAL PICS)

2006-04-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

OFFICIAL JERSEYS (confirmed)

2006-04-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

Pants LEAKED

2006-04-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

PANTS LEAKED . . . look on the left of the photo of Birks pants . . . rumors are still circulating that there may be an alternate purple also.

Vikings Review offical front runner uniform

2006-04-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Here is Vikings Review's official estimate at what the uniform will look like. There have been certain information (reliable information) out there that have lead me to believe that this will be the official uniform unvieled on April 27th. Take a look at the new Vikings uniform . . . I can dig it.

New uniforms

2006-04-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

This is as close as it gets for right now . . . if you think you can decifer it, be my guest and send me a picture.

This is something I found on another site, it is a billboard in the cities . . . look closely and we may be able to see something.

The Jerseys on the right are considered to be leaks . . . of the real thing, compare the two side by side and make your own conclusions.

Nothing is set in stone yet, Vikings Review

Evolution of the Vikings Uniform

2006-04-08T23:31:00.000-07:00

Here has been the current evolution of the Vikings uniform, with another addition to be added before the draft. I think that one can actually buy a painting of this at http://www.greatestscapes.com/allteams/MinnesotaVikings.htm . So anyways, copyright infringement avoided with free link and publicity to greatestcapes.com . . . Hell YEAH!!! But I did want to put this out there becuase it was cool. Take a look at the white shirt / purple pants in the lower right corner . . . frickin' cool. Cross your fingers on unvieling day for that one.

Vikings Review

THE HORNS ARE HERE TO STAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-03-29T10:35:00.000-08:00

Hooray, amid speculation that the horns were going to be taken off the helmet, Zygi Wilf announced earlier that the horns will stay.

Although it was only rumor from the start, the thought of losing the horns caused enough alarm in people to sign a KEEP THE HORNS petition. Although the horns may never have been heading for the cutting floor, the silence from the front office left us all in limbo. With great efforts from VikingsBoard.net and other Vikings fans that got the word out, the petition garnered more than 1150 signatures in one week based solely off of message boards.

We appreciate Wilfs response to keep the horns, and easing some of our fears. Without the work of VB.net and other Vikings fans, Wilf may not have addressed the issue.

SKOL

Vikings Review Wishful thinking New Uniform

2006-03-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

Here is the Vikings Review dream uniform. I very much doubt that this is the direction Wilf will be taking the Vikings, but a man can dream can't he.

If you will notice, it based in large part on the 1969 Vikings uniform with a few changes.

#1 Purple road pants!!!!

#2 Yellow Outlining on the numbers

#3 The horns remain . . . unchanged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sign the Keep the Horns petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/40for60/petition.html

Skol,

Vikings Review

Vikings New Uniforms - Concepts

2006-03-25T11:17:00.000-08:00

THESE LOOK TO BE OFFICIAL LEAKS!!!!!!

Here are a few concept designs for the new Vikings Uniforms. Please note that these are only concepts made by fans, and not the real thing.
Remember to sign the Keep the Horns petition, to keep the Horns on the Vikings Helmet

http://www.petitiononline.com/40for60/petition.html

KEEP THE HORNS PETITION

2006-03-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

As most of you already know, the Vikings are in the process of working on new uniforms. What we don't know yet is what these new uniforms are going to look like. As of right now, the front office has not released any information on the proposed changes, the graphic design firm that they are working with on the changes or even an idea of what the composite ideas might be.

Last week, a rumor began to circulate around the fan base about these changes including a switch from the horned helmets to a design that would feature the norseman head logo on the side of the helmet instead. Now there is nothing solid as of right now to prove that this is even a possibility, but the proposition of it is alarming enough for most fans to warrant a petition against it. At best, this idea is not in the plans, at worst, it is a possible change in the works and this petition, while premature, will hit the ground running before the idea can ever blossom into a possibility.

Fans that have spoken and are vehemently against a change to the helmet design. Or at the very least, a change that would remove the horns completely. As such, we are asking any fans that agree that the removal of the horns to be a mistake to sign the following petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/40for60/petition.html

Mr. Weatherstone

KEEP THE HORNS MOVEMENT

2006-03-18T10:12:00.000-08:00

From what I have heard and read, the wheels are in motion to change the Vikings uniform. While jersey modifications and alterations happen, one thing that has remained constant have been the horns on the helmet. Go to http://vikingsboard.net and share your thoughts to keep the horns.

Keep in mind that this is not a petition, but a chance to express your love for the horns and why they should stay.

One of the Greatest

2006-03-06T20:18:00.000-08:00

Baseball used to be the heart beat of the nation. The game was not played for money, it was not played for fame, it was not played for endoresement deals and BMW's . . . it was played for love. There is a romanticism in the heart of all baseball fans that used to drive the game. Grown men still watch Field of Dreams for the 72nd time and get tears in thier eyes. There used to be a beauty about the game that fans held closely. We did not tolerate lazy ballplayers insulting the great game by jogging out a routine groundball or letting a catchable linedrive fall for a single. We did not tolerate anyone who showed the game the slightest disrespect.

Something happend 30 years ago, baseball started losing its soul. Futures and money became the primary reason to play the game. The number of endoresement deals slowly became more important than the number of hits you had. Steroids began rearing it ugly head as a replacement for effort. Running out a groundball only meant that you might pull a hamstring. The soul of baseball, the beauty, the romanticism, the blue collar aspect of the game began to erode. Players became selfish, not caring about the communities they played in, but instead chasing the all mighty dollar. Fans lost touch with thier local teams and began following the great players. Baseball seemed all but lost.

Kirby Puckett never became one of the standard, garden variety ball players. Kirby loved the game, he played the game the way it was supposed to be played, he played the game as if it were still the national pastime. He was a torch bearer that illuminated the greatness of baseball in an ever darkening era. He ran out every groundball no matter what the score was, no matter how many games the Twins were out of first. He chased down fly balls that most centerfielders today would assume were uncatchable. He made leaps that defyed gravity, he hit balls over fences in the most clutch of situations, he ran the bases aggressively without regard for pulling hammies, . . . he played the game like he was 12 years old. His smile lit up an otherwise gloomy domed staduim, the mere mention of his first name made a staduim erput and rise to its feet no matter what the score was. Kirby represented everything that was great about baseball, the hitting mastery, the fielding wizardry, and most importantly . . . he was the soul of the game at a time when it was more important to look good than to play good.

Kirby never played for anyone but the Twins. He remained loyal to the community that loved him so much. Kirby Puckett was the Twins. In an era where great ballplayers jetted off to wealthier teams in nicer locations following the money, Puckett stayed in Minnesota. Ask any Twins fan who was the greatest centerfield to play the game and the name Puckett will be dropped more than Cobb. My father and a few uncles were all Twins fans, and when I was growing up that is all you ever heard . . . Pucket did this, Puckett did that, did you see that catch Puckett made, Puckett, Puckett, Puckett. Kirby was more than just a ballplayer to Twins fans, he was the spirit of "Field of Dreams", he represented the love of the game, he was the reason why kids played little league and the cause of many school yard fights over who got to wear number 34. Kirby was the reason to love baseball.

Baseball's health began declining in the mid 70's, men like Kirby Puckett tried like hell to keep the original spirit of the game alive. Baseball's heart kept ticking because of players like Puckett, and it went into cardiac arrest the day he had to quit. The heart and soul of baseball has barely been sputtering since his retirement, we have lost the beauty of the game without him. He was the last of the greats that deserved our applause. Puckett was the last player to play the game like it is supposed to be played. The last sports star that should ever be called a role model. He was an inspiration for millions, not because of his skill but because of his hustle. . . the true spirit of the game. With Kirby's death, baseball not only loses a Hall of Famer, but it also loses the last man to play the game right.

Thank you Kirby for being the standard by which the game should be played, thank you for keeping baseball's soul alive.

Kirby Puckett, he gave the gift of baseball to one last generation.

All-Star Games : 1986-1995
Gold Gloves : 1986-1989, 1991-1992
Silver Sluggers (OF) : 1986-1989, 1992, 1994

Complete Kirby Puckett stats http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/puckeki01.shtml

Stadium Names

2006-02-18T13:45:00.000-08:00

I cannot stand when a stadium takes on a corporate sponsor. Prime example: (baseball) Where do the San Francisco Giants play? The team will be playing in its third different named stadium since it was built. That staduim is not very old. Or how about Network Associates Colusium? Where? Who plays there? What city is that in? I think this problem is much uglier in baseball than football . . . a baseball stadium is ussually a work of art, where as a football stadium is more or less utiltarian (although it can have charm).

Quiz: Which stadiums belong to which teams?
a-Bank of America Staduim
b-Edward Jones Dome
c-Fed Ex Field
d-Ford Field
e-Lincoln Financial Field
f-Monster Park
g-Qwest Field
h-AllTel Staduim
i-RCA Dome
j-Reliant Stadium
k-Hienz Field
l-M and T Bank Staduim
m-Invesco Field
n-McAffee Coluesum
o-Qualcomm stadium

Options

1-Jags
2-Ravens
3-Broncos
4-Chargers
5-Raiders
6-Steelers
7-Colts
8-Texans
9-Seahawks
10-Lions
11-Rams
12-49ers
13-Redskins
14-Panthers
15-Eagles

Which teams do these Staduims belong to?
1-Giants Staduim (two answers)
2-Texas Stadium
3-Georgia Dome
4-Raymond James Staduim
5-SuperDome
6-Lambeau Field
7-Metrodome (even though it is a pretty stupid name)
8-Soldier Field
9-Sun Devil Stadium
10-Dolphins Staduim
11-Gillette Stadium
12-Ralph Wilson Staduim
13-The Coliseum
14-Cleveland Stadium
15-Paul Brown Stadium
16-Arrowhead Stadium

choices -
a-Chiefs
b-Browns
c-Bengals
d-Titans
e-Bears
f-Packers
g-Vikings
h-Cardinals
i-Dolphins
j-Patriots
k-Giants and Jets
l-Cowboys
m-Bucs
n-Falcons
o-Saints
p-Bills

The point being . . . You may be able to get some of the right teams to the stadiums in the first group, but the second group is much easier. It displays more of a local flare. It creates greater rivalries. Who says "We are going to go into McAffee Coliseum and beat the hell out of that team." It sounds much better if you say "We are going to go in Lambeau and beat the hell out of that team.

Answers to Group 1 - the corporate sellouts
a-14, b-11, c-13, d-10, e-15, f-12, g-9, h-1, i-7, j-8, k-6, l-2, m-3, n-5, o-4

Answers to Group 2 - The non-corporate sellouts
1-k, 2-l, 3-n, 4-m, 5-o, 6-f, 7-g, 8-e, 9-h, 10-i, 11-j, 12-d, 13-p, 14-b, 15-c, 16-a

Which was easier? See my point?

Vikings Review

Vikings Review - Players of the Year

2006-02-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

Vikings Review Players of the Year Awards

This year was not as bad as the history books will record. While this year may have fallen short of making the playoffs . . . and off field scandals reared thier ugly heads . . . and we lost an all pro quarterback to a massive knee injury . . . and the Bears won the division with no offense . . . and Mike Tice got fired . . . and the Staduim is still being debated . . . Nevermind. This year frickin' sucked. But wait . . . there is one final test to determine whether the Vikings had a quality year . . . WE SWEPT THE PACKERS!!!!!!! SKOL VIKINGS SKOL!!!!!! When you don't make the playoffs, that is all that matters. Congrats to the Minnesota Vikings and thier successful year. It was a hell of a ride.

Vikings Review 2005 Awards

Most Improved player from 2004 - Brian Williams. While I hated the guy in 2004, he proved himself worthy to wear the horns this year. Williams 4 picks doubled the league average, and his 32 tackles were 5 more than the league average. Considering he was just a worthless piece of burnt meat last year . . . he did pretty good for himself.

Best running back - Yeah, this one is a little tougher . . . and not for good reasons. Mewalde Moore with 662 yards rushing and a 4.1 average with 1 touchdown. He did show heart though, unlike some other players that will not be named *cough* Bennett *cough*. Overall the running game sucked. The blame might not be entirely on the backs though, the offensive line may have something to do with this. But you work with the indgrediants that you are given.

Best Quarterback - Brad Johnson. While his numbers were not stellar, they did beat Daunte's. Although Daunte was coming around just about the time he got injured. We will never know what would have happend. Daunte did lead the great comeback in the Green Bay game. But Johnson proved to be a great leader and competitor on the field. He did not make mistakes, but he did not move the ball unless he had to. He commendeered a long winning streak, giving the fans a taste of good times. Good Job Brad.

Best Wide Reciever/ Tight End - Jermaine Wiggins. There were a few key players catching the ball this year, most showed great heart and athleticism, but Wiggins was the go to guy with a team leading 69 receptions for a team second best 568 yards. Travis Taylor does deserve honorable mention though. Congrats Wiggins . . . you are now hold a special place in Vikings fans hearts.

Best Offensive Lineman - Brian McKinnie. He is about the only guy on the line that deserved to have his name on the back of a Vikings jersey. He may be an asshole, he may be a money hungry dick . . . but he is a damn good lineman.

Best Defensive Back - Darrin Sharper. Come on . . . the guy had 9 picks this year, made the Pro Bowl, and keyed us in to the Packers offense, and nearly single handely defeated the Eli and the Giants this year. Honorable mentions do go out to Winfield though with 4 picks and a team leading 89 tackles.

Best Linebacker - Sam Cowart. The guy had 84 tackles (71 solo) and 2 sacks. Decent, nothing spectacular. But it was the best out of the linebacking corp.

Best Defensive Lineman - Big Pat Williams. You have got to love that guy, he played everygame with intensity. He only had 1.5 sacks, but he was a force to be reckoned with on the line, breaking the pocket for others.

Best Special teams player - Koren Robinson. The guy showed the greatest heart out of the whole team this year, and he used to be a superstar . . . or was expected to be a superstar. We settled down this year, took his opportunities when they presented themselves, and then ran them for touchdowns. If the Vikings would have used K-Rob wisely . . . he could have gotten the nod for wide reciever of the year from Vikings Review.

Offensive Player of the Year - Wiggins

Defensive Player of the Year - Sharper

Best Rookie - Kluwe, Mosley, James, Fason . . . Kluwe, Mosley, James . . . Kluwe, James . . . Kluwe, James . . . Kluwe, James . . . screw it .. . Kluwe AND James. Both played the game like a 5 year vets. A very nice face on things to come.

Vikings Review Minnesota Vikings Player of the Year - Paul Edinger . . . for beating the Packers twice. But seriously, Wiggins. The guy is fast becoming a staple in Minnesota with sure hands and extra ordinary leaping ability . . . Wiggins shines above the rest. Honorable mentions to Brad Johnson, Kluwe, Koren Robinson, and the entire defense.

Skol Vikings . . . lets win the offseason?

Vikings Playoff Scenerio II

2005-12-24T16:15:00.000-08:00

Assuming Vikings win 2 games:

Redskins loss + Cowboys loss = Vikings Wild Card
Bears loss against the Packers = Vikings Divisional Champ
Giants Loss + Redskins win = Vikings Wild Card
Giants loss + Redskins loss + Cowboys loss = Vikings Wild Card
Redskins win + Giants win = Vikings out
Cowboys win + Redskins win + Giants Loss = Strength of Victory between the Vikings and the Cowboys (Cowboys have us by +5 right now, not counting in Vikings vs. Ravens Game)

Any Vikings loss = No playoffs

Who to root for next week and this week:
Packers over Bears (Christmas day)
Oakland over Giants (week 17)
Eagles lose to Redskins if Oakland beats Giants, otherwise Redskins lose to Eagles if Giants beat Oakland
St. Louis over Cowboys (Vikings can still get in if Dallas wins by a very small margin)
Vikings to win big in next two games (enough to outscore Dallas)

Week 16-17, it doesnt get any better than this!

Skol Vikings

Week 16 Picks and Predictions

2005-12-24T09:42:00.000-08:00

"When your right 51% of the time, your wrong 49% of the time" - Some Simpsons episode

Dallas at Carolina - Carolina. The panthers just seem a little too strong for the Cowboys this year, especially after such a stunning defeat against the Redskins. Besides, we need Carolina to win in order to give the Vikings a better chance at the Wild Card if that's what it comes down to.

Buffalo at Cincinnati - Cincinnati. Althought he Bengals nearly lost against the Browns, they still have to play for the first round bye. Motivation abounds as Palmer and Johnson hook up many times

Pittsburgh at Cleveland - Cleveland. Looking to play spoiler, and considering this is a big rivalry, Cleveland mounts a 4th quarter drive that is meaningless to thier season.

Jacksonville at Houston - Jacksonville. Seriously, does anyone ever pick Houstong?

San Diego at Kansas City - San Diego. With thier backs against the wall, the Chargers must win to stay alive. They may not have very much luck at Arrowhead, but if they found a way to win in Indy, they can find a way to win in KC. Besides, I need the Chiefs to lose this game because of a bet with my brother . . . I get an official Vikings jersey if the Vikes have a better record than the Chiefs.

Tennesseeeeee at Miami - Miami. I don't know why, I just have a feeling that the Dolphins might pull out a win

Detroit at New Orleans or San Antonio or New York (Saints) - Saints. Detroit jsut plain sucks and that is the end of that. GO SAINTS!!!

San Francisco at St. Louis - St. Louis. I would like to root for the 49ers this week, or any week for that matter, they seem like nice guys. But they have consisently proven that they cannot play football at the professional level. Cakewalk for the Rams

Atlanta at Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay. This may be the first time in my life that I have picked Tampa to win a game. Some of us are a little old school from the days when the Bucs just really sucked ass. But we need the Bucs to win this game in order to control our own destiny. Atlanta who has recently stumbled greatly will have to go into Tampa and try to steal a win. Tampa will be ready though.

Giants at Washington - We want the Giants, but the Skins will win. Eli Manning can't play on the road, Skins have something to prove. Giants make the NFC East a little more interesting.

Philly at Arizona - Arizona. Both teams suck this year and I have to pick the Cardinals just because no one ever picks the Cardinals . . . I think they might be lonely.

Oakland at Denver - Denver. While this may be a rivalry game and everything, Oakland just sucks and Denver is emerging as a powerhouse. This game is in Denver, Oakland will be cold, and humble at the end of the 1st half.

Chicago at Green Bay - grean bey. The words a Vikings fan should never utter . . . pekkers. But this is another good rivalry, in grean bey, and the pekkers should be able to pull out a win if they have any self repsect at all. Seriously, these guys suck ass, but Chicago does not have an offense and grean bey is not the place they will find one. pekkers win a close one.

Vikings at Baltimore - Vikings. More on this game tommorrow.

New England at Jets - New England. Not because I buy into the hype that the Pats are so great, but rather I fully buy into the idea that New York just plain sucks ass also. There are a lot of shitty teams this year and the Jets are vying to be the worst.

Inidanapolis at Seattle - Seattle. The Chargers stole the wind out of the Seahhawks sails last week by denying them a chance to defeat the unefeated, but Indy is in cruise control and will cruise to a second loss.

Skol Vikings

Vikings Playoff Scenerio

2005-12-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

Seeing as hw the Vikings were unable to pull off the win last week, and the Bears somehow overcame the Falcons, the playoff picture is looking quite muddy right now. We still have a chance at winning the division and possibly hosting the Bears in the Dome the first week. Here is the divisional championship scenerio.

Playoffs via Divisional championship - Bears must lose to the Packers. This is quite possible considering how big of rivals these two teams are. While Favre did not show off the brilliance that Madden loves so much last week against the Ravens, be sure that he will try to bring his A game against the Bears. If for nothing else than to screw up a great season by the Bears and confuse the playoff picture even more. If the Bears lose to the Packers, the Vikings must win against the Ravens. The Ravens will also be looking to play spoiler as if they win they essentially knock the Vikings out of the playoffs, and they have nothing to play for anyways.

In Summary - Division - Vikings beat Ravens, Packers beat Bears - Vikings beat Bears on new Years day in the Dome. Vikings get Dome Field advantage for a week.

Playoffs via the Wild Card -

Carolina loses 2, Vikings win 2 = Carolina has tie breaker (head to head)

Falcons and Vikings same record = Falcons have tie breaker (head to head)

Falcons beat Tampa - Lose to Carolina, Vikings win 2 = Vikings win off of better record

Cowboys win 2, Vikings win 2 = Strength of Victories (Depends upon final score, right now the Cowboys have a strength of victory of 8.875 points, while the Vikings have 8.75 points. Cowboys total win margin in 8 games = 71, Vikings 70. Who ever outscores the opponent more gets in)

Cowboys win 1 lose 1, Vikings lose Ravens, win Bears = Vikings with a better confernce record

Cowboys win 1 lose 1, Vikings win Ravens, lose Bears = Vikings with better common opponents record

Redskins win 2, Vikings win 2 = Redskins with a better conference record

Redskins win 1, Vikings win 1 = Redskins with a better conference record

Tampa Bay wins 1 = Tampa Bay over Vikings due to head to head record

Giants lose 2, Vikings win 2 = Vikings have tie breaker if the Redskins win last two games.

Basically, we have a few more favorite teams than we normally should, but what fun would a playoff hunt be with out DRAMA!

We are rooting for the Packers (it's just one game, then we can hate them all over again) If they beat the Bears - Jan 1st Showdown in the Dome - Vikings win

We are rooting for the Panthers. They Play Atlanta and Dallas. If the Vikings win 2 and Panthers win 2, we have Atlanta and Dallas out of the way.

2 Redskin wins and 2 Giants losses = Vikings are in. Otherwise, if the Redskins have the same record as us, we lose out. If the Giants lose 2 and the Redskins win 2 = Redskins have division, Giants lose on playoffs, with 2 Carolina wins = VIKINGS WILD CARD!!!!

Vikings win 2 - then we need :

Bears lose to Packers = Division

Giants lose to Oakland and Redskins

Redskins beat Giants and Eagles

Any Redskins loss

Carolina to beat Cowboys and Falcons (at least need Falcons) Cowboys need to win by a lesser margin than the Vikings.

Tampa Bay losses 2, one to Falcons who in turn lose to Carolina, and one to the Saints.

It's Possible, and there may be more scenerio's that I have not covered but I am pretty tired right now

Skol Vikings, and Packers, and Panthers, and Eagles, and Raiders, and Saints, and Giants or Redskins depending upon whether the Redskins can win 2 games.

Vikings (8-5) vs. Steelers (8-5)

2005-12-17T12:29:00.000-08:00

Vikings vs. Steelers 12pm CDT

This is another big game for the men in purple this week. Critics of the team have been waving the flag that Minnesota can't beat a good team, or that they haven't played a good defense since they went on thier winning streak. Bull sh*t. I don't care what the record of the Packers was, that is one of those divisional games where anything can happen, and the teams have a 50/50 shot at winning no matter what their records are. In addition, the Packers have a pretty good defense. I am not so sure of the rank, but I think it may be #5. The lions can have almost the same hing said about them, another big divisional game in best rivalry division. Then there were the Giants. Yeah they beat our offense, but our defense won the day in that contest. So for all the people that get paid to make predictions, don't listen to them, they have terrible analysis.

Yes, the Vikings face a decent defense and running game this week. But we can also look at it in another light, the Steelers face a better defense and a QB that doesn't turn the ball over. Basically this game will boil down to Johnson and Roth (Cheeseburger). The Steelers will attempt to run the ball, Pat and Kevin Williams will lead the Viking defense in shutting down the run, Cheeseburger will pass, make a few mistakes . . . big picks. The Vikings will attempt to run, get shut dowon, then rely on 5-7 passing gains as BJ drives down field. The differance, BJ will not turn the ball over and the Vikings will take this game when BJ comes through big in the clutch.

Looking at the standings right now, if the Bears lose the next 2 weeks and the Vikings lose the next 2 games, we still have a match-up on January 1st to determine the divisional winner. The factors that the bears currently hold against us right now . . . Better divisional record. But a loss to the Packers erases that. Secondly, the Bears have a better NFC record. If they lose to Atlanta and the Packers the Confernce records even out. Thus again setting up a Jan 1st game. Either way the Bears have guarenteed themselves a Jan 1st showdown no matter how well they do in the upcoming weeks. The Vikings can win both games, but still are in the same position as if they only win 1. Best Case scenerio . . . Jan 1st will be our 1st playoff game.

Anyways final score prediction Vikings 17 Steelers 13.

Skol Vikings

Indoor vs. Outdoor Stadium in Minnesota

2005-12-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

vs.

Considering that the Vikings will most likely be moving to a new home sometime within the next ten years, it might be of value to examine the benefits of an outdoor stadium vs. indoor, in terms of how well the Vikings play. Since its birth in 1982, the numbers seem to suggest diffent things.

Average differance in score 1982 - 2005 = 1.265 for all games played, advantage Vikings
Average differance at home 1982 - 2005 = 4.934 advantage Vikings
Average advantage at home 1982 - 2005 = 3.668 in favor of the Vikings at Metrodome

Average differance in score 1961 - 1981 = 2.4613 for all games played, advantage Vikings
Average differance at home 1961 - 1981 = 3.8772 advantage Vikings
Average advantage at home 1961 -1981 = 1.4159 in favor of the Vikings at Metropolitan

Dome advantage over the Met = 2.252 points per game in favor of Dome for home games
Away advantage of playing during Met years over the Dome years = 1.196 in favor of the Met.

The Dome seems to have a great advantage over an outdoor staduim in terms of playing at home, but it seems to create a disadvantage when playing on the road.

The Dome makes sure that one can have a comfortable experince when seeing a Vikings game, the Met was most likely cold as hell.

Any comments? Feel free to discuss the idea of another Dome, or an open field staduim. Note that a retractable roof is essentially a dome.

Skol Vikings

Vikings 27 (8-5) - Rams 13 (5-8)

2005-12-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

"SKOL VIKINGS - Let's Win the Game! - SKOL VIKINGS - Honor Your Name - V - I -K- I- N- G - S - Go Vikings - SKOL!!!!"

Remember this song because you will be hearing it in early Febuary, I had a dream. 6 in a row baby!!! A team already written off at the end of October, with off field crap, an injured quarterback, a swiss cheese defense, no running game, and recievers that were too slow . . . what? I'm sorry, you need to finish eating your crow before you speak again. Vikings Review made a daring prediction after the Panthers loss that Minnesota would go 10-6 this season and win the NFC North. Vikings Review may have been wrong, 11-5 appears to be much more plausable. Resurected from the depths of 2-5, the Vikings defense has come to haunt offenses around the league. More after my victory nap . . .

Skol Vikings

Vikings 21 (7-5) - Lions 16 (4-8)

2005-12-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

Vikings 21 - Lions 16

Vikings make it 5 in a row as Brad Johnson comes out chucking the big bombs. Koren Robinson is player of the game, and by far the coolest looking player in the NFL with the amber face shield. SKOL VIKINGS. Full game analysis to be added by 6pm PST.

Vikings (6-5) at Lions (4-7)

2005-12-03T22:44:00.000-08:00

Vikings at Lions, 12 pm Central

I could basically take last week's preview and apply it to this game. The Vikings need a win, they are playing a weak team, and they might not take the seriousness of this game in its entirety. The Lions are a team in the worst type of dissarray right now as they take the field with a new coach at the helm on an interim basis. They know they are essentially out of any playoff pictures, and the Lions never seem to play big when they are only playing for pride. This is all the more reason to fear the Lions.

The Bears still hold a 2 game lead on us right now, and a loss would not help our causes in the least. First of all it would give us a second mark in the loss colum (sp?) for our divisional games. If we are going to have a final showdown in Decemeber against the Bears, we need to have at least the same divisional record as them, if not better. We are definelty looking for a Packer win this week as much as I hate to say it. That right there would put the divisional records the same, and bring us within a game of the Bears. Thus setting up the final showdown in the Dome. In reality we are not 2 games back, we are really 1 game back so long as the Bears lose a divisional game and the Vikings beat the Lions. If the case is such, week 17 will be the first of a few playoff games for the Vikings.

Keys to the game - run the damn ball. I still shudder when I think of a passing game based upon the arm of Johnson. If we can establish the running game then mix in the pass, well we might have a winner. We cannot rely entirly upon the defense and special teams to win games for us.

Defense. Keep an eye on Mosely. This guy entirely flew under my radar last week and played a brilliant game, worthy of a nod for player of the game. Pat Williams as always needs to bring the intensity. Sharper should be looking to be the gravitational center of the Garcia's universe. Pat Williams will be the wrecking ball that destroy's his dreams. As long as the Vikings can contain the run, they should be alright. They have been amazing as of late and it is actually exciting to watch them play. 3 and outs would be just fine.

Final Score Prediction - Vikings 27, Lions 17.

Skol Vikings

Vikings 24 (6-5) - Browns 12 (4-7)

2005-11-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

Vikings Win!!! Again.

Welcome to the JUNGLE!!!!!! The Vikings have been playing with pure animal instinct and passion the past 4 games setting up an eventual showdown in Minneapolis to determine the NFC Norris divisional championshipl. There were times during this game when the fans wanted to see the defense and nothing but the defense. Myself, I began to feel a little sorry for Dilfer and the Browns, the Vikings made them look like a college team today.

Listen to Metallica's "Star Wars March" and tell me that does not summarize the mission the Vikings seem to be on right now. Angered by doubters, ready to prove themselves dominant in the face of adversity. The Vikings defense is truly in touch with the dark side now. There are no Luke Skywalkers in sight. No Yoda's to guide a passing attack against the all-powerful Vikings D. Skol.

Brad Johnson broke the 200 yard barrier for the first time this season as the offense relied upon the passing game more than the run. Johnson ws 19/28 for 207 yards and 3 TD's all of which went to Koren Robinson. The offensive line held its own for the first time this year allowing Johnson to complete these 19 passes. 5 to Taylor for 70 yards, and 5 to Wiggins for 67. Mewelde Moore was unable to back up his great performance last week as he gain 67 yards off of 21 carries. More or less it didn't really matter, the Vikings Defense was impenatrable. But there is something that has to be said about Brad Johnson. While Vikings Review has always felt that Brad Johnson was officially "the man", fear of angering the Quarterback gods by offending Daunte always loomed. From the Vikings Review archives, August 12th 2005 "Brad Johnson is back. I know he is only playing as a backup quarterback, but we tend to have great years with him as a back up. Maybe he is a good luck charm. I don't know, I try not to question it as it might make the luck turn sour." Has the profiecy come true? I don't know, I try not to question it. Brad Johnson, I don't know what you do, but don't stop doing that thing that you do so well. Skol Brad.

The Defense is awesome. That is all that needs to be said about that. And that is all that I will say about it. If you don't like the analysis . . . watch the damn game. I am not going to jinx the defense by bringing to light some insignifigant crap that obviously didn't mean anything to the game. They came, they conquered, they deserve a trip on the boat. Skol.

Vikings Review Player's of the Game

Offense - Brad Johnson (the enigma) and Koren Robinson (the guy who caught 3 TD's)

Defense - Pat Williams (the unstoppable human wrecking ball) and Darren Sharper (The gravitational center of the world for opposing defenses)

Next Week - at the 4-7 Lions.

Skol Vikings.

Vikings (5-5) vs. Browns (4-6)

2005-11-26T21:11:00.000-08:00

Vikings 5-5 vs. Browns 4-6

Not much can be said in a preview about this game except don't screw up a good thing. The Vikings have been super hot as of late after starting out the season 1-4, they have rebounded with a 4-1 record in the last 5 games. Brad Johnson at worst has proven to be an adequate replacement for Culpepper, and at best . . . he doesn't turn the ball over. A veteran in the leauge, Johnson knows when to throw the ball and when to throw it awaay. Essentially we have traded out high powered rifle offense for a BB gun. We may not be quite as imposing as we used to be, but when we shoot ourselves in the foot . . . it doesn't hurt so much.

Our defense has started to play up to higher standards than most originally thought. A defense that was arguably one of the worst in the NFL last year, went to the off-season in an attempt to become average. In the past few weeks the defense has far exceeded the average label and has become a dominant force to be contended with. Led by the never say die attitude of Pat Williams, opposing quarterbacks are forced to throw the ball into tight spots that often end up picked. The run stop limited the Packers to a mere 21 yards last week, essentailly cornering the offense into passing all game long. The defense is back, but it a bit premature to claim the day of Dungy are back. One of the most notable things in the past 3 weeks has been how the defense has gelled together and play as one unit. Most definetly a deciding factor in a few of the recent games.

The most notable improvement over the past few weeks has been the intensity that the whole team takes into the game. How many times did I scream BOOOM during the Packers game when Minnesota laid the wood on a tackle? Too many is the answer to that question. In stark contrast from the first 7 games, the entire team is playing with intensity. They actually look like they want to win the games. What a concept. I actually think Tice has a lot to do with this. The Vikings needed time to gel after the influx of a ton of free agents in the off-season. In the past 3 weeks we have seen this team gel. . . and win.

There is talk out there about firing Tice, and there is also talk about Tice for coach of the year. In Vikings Review's opinion, if Tice makes the playoffs . . . he keeps his job. If Tice makes the NFC Championship game . . . coach of the year. If we win the Super Bowl . . . rename the Lombardy trophy to the Tice Trophy. Tice has had to deal with a lot of crap this year. In the past 3 games, Tice has shown that he has the ability to rally the troops in the darkest of times in a manner befitting George Washington. Don't sell your Tice stock for magic beans quite yet, we may have a real winner on our hands.

The Browns come into this game struggling throughout the whole year. While their record indicates 4-6, they are the only team to lose to the Texans this year. Included in those losses is the loss to the 3-7 Ravens, and the team that everyone thought was the big time this year . . . the "Paper Lions". (terrible attempt at a pun, sorry. I know . . . I'm fired.) They were able to beat the Packers. . . but just barely. But then again, so were we. (Our games are rivalry games though). The Browns are 1-4 on the road this year, going up against a Vikings team that is 3-1 at home. Foxsports.com's power rankings have the Browns at #22, and the Vikings greatly underranked at #23. With Trent Dilfer having to contend with the rejuentated Vikings faithful in the Dome this week, I would expect him to make a few bad decisions and increase his interception numbers from 10 to . . . well more than 10.

Keys to the game - Offense.

Get Moore the damn ball. We win when Moore runs the ball. I read a stat somewhere that the Vikings have yet to lose a game when Moore ran for 90 or more yards. Pound the ball, keep that defense on the field, get them tired and score. Our defense should be able to provide a few 3 and outs, thus putting a tired Browns D back on the field for some more work. If we keep the Browns D working overtime this week, a win should come pretty easily. If we struggle, then we must leave the winning up to the Defense.

Keys to the game - Defense.

3 and outs. The offense's best friend is a D that can get them back out on the field. How to accomplish this? Run stopping. Plug up that running game, force Dilfer to pass, let Pat Williams hurry him, then watch Brian Williams or Devonte Edwards (Player of the game last week) run a TD back. Keep Dilfer on his toes and things will work out fine

Most importantly though, the Vikings need to come into this game with the eyes burning of fire and brimstone that we have seen in the past few weeks. Heart wins football games. (I am pretty sure I stole that off of Rudy) Anyways, Skol Vikings.

Final Score Prediction - Vikings 24 Browns 17.

Skol Vikings

Top Eleven Moments From Last Nights Game

2005-11-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's game was just another installment of the greatest rivalry in sports. Listed below are the top 11 moments from that game.

11) Wiggins "lords a leaping" catch where he hurdled the Packers defense in a big gain. What an athlete!

10) Even though it didn't count, Moore's big run up the middle that was called back for a phantom holding call. Minnesota won despite the terrible job by the officials.

9) Brad Johnson somehow defying logic and escaping a sack throwing a completion to Travis Taylor (spectacular catch).

8) Mewalde Moore's 24 yard run off the right tackle setting up an Edinger field goal.

7) Favre most likely playing his last game against the Vikings. . . and losing in Lambeau.

6) Tice running down the clock after Robinson's big play in the 4th quarter, essentially taking away any comeback heroics from Favre.

5) Dovonte Edwards and his fantastic attempt to break up a reception on the 5 yard line, thus making the Packers tie the game with 3 minutes to go.

4) Edinger's last second field goal. All Vikings fans across the nation had only one thought in thier mind . . . please be a good snap.

3) Koren Robinson's wide open catch with 1 minute left to play in the 4th quarter

2) John Madden continuing to praise Favre after his second interception. Love is truly blind.

1) Dovonte Edwards Interception and subsequent touchdown return. Especially sweet since he was telling the pres he wanted Brett Favre to throw his way so he could pick him off and make a name for himself. Nice back flip Edwards, Nice back flip.

Skol Vikings Skol

Vikings 20 - Packers 17, Series at 45-44-1 (Vikings)

2005-11-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

Vikings 20 Packers 17
Great game tonight as Vikings edge out the Packers and the poor calls by the refs to take the 1 game advantage in the overall series, sweep the regular season, and emerge from the ashes to make a run at the playoffs. Skol Vikings.

4-1 since starting 1-4. A great turn around and signs that the defense is starting to gel. Things are starting to look playoffy in Minnesota.

Another great performance by the Vikings defense secured this Monday Night win against the Packers. Young buck Edwards was given an oppurtunity prove his worth against Favre on Monday, and that he did. An interception returned for a touchdown, and a pivitol pass break up in the 4th quarter as the Packers were driving proved to be the biggest defensive plays of the game. Both were by Edwards. Thus the nomination for Vikings Review defensive player of the Week. Congrats Devonte Edwards.

The Vikings were also able to shut down the Packer running attack all day long, holding Green Bay to 21 total yards rushing. On top of that, every time the Packers dared to run the ball, there was a Vikings waiting to put a good lick on him. For a team that came into the game giving up an average of 127 yards rushing per game, the 21 yards gained today was a total suprise. The basic idea that this stat indicates is that the Vikings were ready for this game today. The defense came to play, as evidenced by the hard hitting, and they executed all game long. The pass defense was also top-notch today (save that long Driver TD) forcing Favre to throw 2 critical interceptions. It was a great way for the Vikings defense to send Favre off into the land of retirement, 2 big picks and a tissue for crying on the road home. GREAT JOB DEFENSE!!!!

The offense was not great, they were not terrible either though. The line looked a little pourous in the first half, allowing Green Bay to reach Johnson way too many times. After a few half time adjustments and some new linemen, the Vikings kicked the running game into high gear and recievers started getting open. Wiggins had a hell of a game with 7 catches for 67 yards. Not bad for a tight end. Robinson made up for a huge dropped pass, with a spectacular diving reception on 3rd down to keep the 8 minute drive alive. Mewalde Moore really broke loose in the second half and ended the game with 122 yards on 22 carries. (Moore is the Vikings Review offensive player of the game) He would have had more (no pun intended) yards had the refs not thrown a ticky-tack holding flag after a sweet 30 yard run. All in all, the Vikings relied upon the run in the second half, and they came through when it counted.

Mr. Brad "I am only good when I need to be" Johnson was 18/30 for 196 yards. The most important play being a 4th quarter, one minute to go, pass to Koren Robinson that set up the short field goal by Edinger. For some reason the Vikings have been winning with Brad Johnson. The offense is looking weaker and weaker, but we dont turn the ball over all that much. Brad has no arm, but he doesn't make many mistakes. It is great to see Brad back in purple leading the team to 3 straight victories and putting us right back in the playoff hunt.

One thing that everyone should have noticed about this game is that the Vikings are starting to look like a football team. Gone are the days of the deep bomb, but the days of the defense are back. The running game is back, and we are turning the ball over less and less. In addition to that, we are playing together. The offensive line played great in the second half, opening up holes for Moore and allowing huge gains on offense. The defense is holding up thier end of the deal and shutting down every aspect of the opponents offense. Special teams are playing extra special also. Things are starting to look up, and with a weaker schedule coming up, the Vikings have a real chance of facing the Bears in week 17 (in Minnesota) to determine the divisional winner.

By the way, when I called 10-6 for a final record, the Vikings have yet to lose. Still calling 10-6. In Brad we trust. In Edinger we trust. In Koren Robinson we trust. In Devonte Edwards we trust. In Sharper we trust. In Moore we trust. In Zygi we trust. In Tice we Trust.

Offensive Player of the Week - Mewalde Moore, 122 yards rushing off of 22 carries

Defensive Player of the Week - Devonte Edwards, 1 Int, 1 TD, 1 touchdown saving broken up pass.

SKOL VIKINGS SKOL

Vikings at Packers, MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

2005-11-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

While neither team has had a season for the record books, it is still the greatest rivalry in sports. Vikings vs. Packers. With a great last second win in the Dome this year, the Vikings evened the all-time mark between the two teams. What is at stake in this game? Bragging rights until next year. With the series tied at 44-44-1, this game means an incredible amount to the fans.

What is better than a Vikings Packers game, in Lambeau, in November, on Monday Night Football? Nothing. While it is not a rematch of the proportions of 1998, the Vikings are picking up some steam in recent weeks going 3-1 since starting out the season 1-4. Coming off of a decent defensive performance where the offense was non-existant, and super special teams, the Vikings look to the tried and true leadership of Brad Johnson to engineer a season redeeming win against the Packers. Brian Williams had a decent week against the Giants (shocker), but Sharper stole the spotlight. Look for the defense to continue its great play against an aging Favre prone to throw stupid passes.

There is a bit of a shake up on the offensive line also (it's about time). Fortini (sp?), the trade pickup from the Chargers, will be starting this week in an effort to bring a little life to arguably one of the worst lines in football. Brad Johnson is going to need some protection back there this week. In addition, Johnson will have to make pinpoint passes as the defense will most likely be guarding the recievers very closely because BJ has no arm. Look for a weak Vikings running game because the defense will be playing close, but also look for a few big chucks downfield if they play too close. Short precise passes will be the key for the offense in this game

The majority of the pressure rests upon the shoulders of the defense. As scary of a thought as that may have been a few years ago, the Vikings have climbed back up to normalty with a few signs of brilliance. Look for the Packers to test out thier new toy running back if the pass defense shuts down Favre. The key's for the defense will be to shut down the running back, forcing Favre to pass. Keep Favre in the pocket also. He makes his best throws when shit breaks down. Make him stay in the pocket and force him to make throws he thinks he should have made 10 years ago. He will eventually throw a pick or two.

Vikings Review is terribly worried about this game

(a) Packers are coming off a good win against the Falcons

(b) Vikings have not had a lot of offense with BJ

(d) I have to listen to John "Ace the Hardware place, Tough Actin Tinactin, Turducken" Madden

Seeing as how Thanksgiving is this week, I expect Madden to go into a big speil about what a Turducken is. (a mutalated Turkey, Duck, and Chicken with way too many legs) He does it every year, and each and every year it is the same damn thing. We got it John, it was clever the first time I heard it, now it needs to be relagated to rest of the moronic phrases that you continually spew out each game. GO TO HELL JOHN MADDEN. Stick that mic up your Turduck-end (I can be clever too).

Finaly Prediction

Vikings 24 Packers 17

Vikings Review

Back from my Hiatus. SP? screw it.

2005-11-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

Screw spelling, you know what I mean. After a lengthy break from actually writing about the Vikings, I am back. For any aspiring law students out there, law school is no joke. I actually feel guilty for taking the time to write this right now.

Great win last week against the Giants . . . I guess. All praises must be given to the special teams. Every one else except Brian Williams (shocker) and Darren Sharper seemed to play like shit. Yes, I am saying that the defense was not up to par. They went against a very young quarterback prone to making bad decisions, hence the numerous interceptions. Included in the farce was many passes that are normally catchable, dropped by Giants receivers. But something that was disturbing was that once a drive started to get some steam, the Vikings defense could not stop it. There were 2 picks in the red zone, and a missed field goal. When it came down to the end of the game, the Vikings D got steam rolled by the Giants. It was not our worst performance of the year, but it was not the best either. There is still alot of work that must be done in order to entertain deeper playoff hopes.

The offense just sucked. Serioulsy, I am thinking we should put a Pop Warner offensive line on the field to see if they can block anyone. Brad Johnson was rushed all day long, he hardly had any time to drop and set, let alone get off a good pass. Bennett actually had an excuse for a change why he only gained 16 yards rushing on 19 attempts. I think he was lucky to get those 16 yards. Add to this the weakness of Johnson's arm. Seriously, 9 year old girls can throw further than Johnson. It cost us a few touchdowns. Basically, we have no line, we have no running game, and we could replace our quarterback with the powder puff bench warmers. We have recievers, but no one can get them the ball.

Special teams on the other hand are brilliant. In Edinger we trust. In Koren we trust. In Moore we trust.

What is especially distrubing about this game is that we won it with individual efforts. There was no team out there on the field except for the last minute and a half. We are more than halfway through the season and have yet to gel as a team. The defense is looking better, the offense is looking worse, and the Special teams lived up to thier name. But we cannot rely upon Sharper to pick 3 balls a game, 2 in the redzone. We might be able to expect Koren to return a Kickoff everyweek though. That guy is a stud. But we cannot continue on this anemic offensive run. I would be lying if I said I didn't fear the Packers this week. In Green Bay, on grass, on the road, with Brad Johnson, a super pathetic offensive line, and they just beat the Falcons. But the defense is looking better, but not yet good.

We will see what happens. Anyways, sorry about the delay. . . been very busy.

Skol Vikings Skol

Culpepper Hurt? Out for the Season?

2005-11-01T01:23:00.000-08:00

Screw it. Vikings Review midseason prediction: 10-6.

You did read that right, I am calling 10-6 right now, right here. Why? Not Brad Johnson. Not the brilliant coaching (tounge in cheek), not the fantastic offensive line (tounge in other cheek). None of these things. I call 10-6 because the team must step up in order to recover from this most devastating of losses. They don't have Daunte to blame anymore. They can only look to themselves for losing games.

The Vikings right now are backed into a corner, claws fully extended and ready to fight back all the off field crap, the on field crap, and the loss of thier leader. Look for a team with new life, a team that steps up the play, a team that has to do things on thier own without big momma bird around. We will literaly see this team grow up before our eyes in the next few weeks.

The Vikings have to step up and will step up. If they don't, I say trade every last one of them. This is the point were boys become men. If we ever had a team worth a championship this is thier trial. They either have the heart of lions, or the hearts of cowards. We do not need cowards on this team.

One more time, just so everyone know that on November 1st, Vikings Review predicted a 10-6 finish for the Minnesota Vikings.

Skol Vikings Skol

Vikings 23 - Packers 20 !!!!!!!! SKOL VIKINGS!!!

2005-10-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Vikings 23 - Packers 20!!!

Edinger kicks career long of 56!

To quote a common football cliche', this was truly a tale of two halves. The Vikings offense crashed and burned in the first half, but rose like the phoenix as the team finally gelled to defeat the most hated of foes. Even if it's only for a week, it is the in thing to be a Vikings fan right now. Prediciton : A win to right the ship towards the playoffs.

Sitting in a small little dive bar in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, my hopes had nearly crashed like guys sitting at the bar drowning thier sorrows in PBR. The guy screaming "STOP EVOLUTION" was beginning to steal my attention as the Vikings fumbled and stumbled thier way through the first half. Anything was better than watching Daunte throw errant passes. My hands covered my face as Moore fumbled the ball on the 25 yard line after a brilliant return from Robinson. My mind burned with confusion as Culpepper fumbled a fourth down sneak attempt. Utter dispair was beginning to set in as the final pass of the half bounced out of 3 Vikings fingers before falling softly to the turf. "When are we going to catch a break" I kept asking myself as Favre drove down the field making perfect passes burning a defense that seemed completly lost. 17-0, then we were treated to a bit of relief as the half guarenteed that we would not make any stupid mistakes for at least the next 20 minutes. I feared what would be in store for us in the second half. I was running out of excuses for the two Packer fans sitting next to me watching the game on the big screen. Home seems infinetly distant when your football team is getting blown out by a divisional rival.

But then the second half arrived. And Thor looked down and saw the injustice being wrought and said to the team, "SKOL." The Vikings responded with the the spirit of Valhalla and proceeded to drive down the field with renewed vigor. Like so many late night Cinemax movies, the Vikings slowly pounded the Packer defense into submission. They drove deep into Packer territory and scored thier first points with a 27 yard field goal. The defense responded promptly with a 3 and out.

Culpepper came out with his running shoes today as he took a designed draw for 18 yards to set up a quick strike to Williamson, only to finish off the drive with a 27 yard burn to Marcus Robinson. The offensive line held strong as the majority of the drive was based upon passing. Culpepper was afforded ample time to find the open recievers, although his passes were still a little off. The Packers thus responded with a long drive of their own covering 51 yards in 5 minutes. The defense held strong though and forced a 42 yard field goal attempt, which was wide left. Down by 7 with the 4th quarter starting, the Vikings were in position to make a remarkable comeback and further heat up the storied rivalry.

The Vikings proceeded to drive from thier own 32 down to the doorsteps of the endzone. Once in the Packer redzone, the offense seemed to die, but further analysis suggests they were just selling the drama. A misplaced pass attempt to Moore fell harmlessly to the ground, forcing another Edinger field goal from 22 yards. Green Bay 17, Minnesota 14.

The Vikings defense stood up to Favre and the Packers after a fumbled kickoff that benefited the Packers with and extra 20 yards. A 5 yard pass, a 2 yard run, and an incomplete pass forced the Pack into another 3 and out as they punted the ball to the Vikings 17. You could feel the electricity in the air all the way down in San Francisco as Culpepper took the ships wheel and attempted to guide the Vikings though the sea of green. A 29 yard pass to Moore essentally launched the ship towards midfield. Followed by a five yard pass to Wiggins and a 10 yard gain to Taylor, Culpepper broke another decent run for 14 yards. On a critical 3rd and 8, Burleson caught a ten yard pass thus saving the drive. Moore came out of the backfield uncovered and open in the middle of the field as Daunte hit him with one of the smartest throws he has made all season. End result, TOUCHDOWN VIKINGS!!! Vikings 20, Packers 17, but there are still 190 ticks on the clock.

Favre used this time effectivly as he drove the field for 56 yards in 11 plays and knocking of 2:46 off the clock. The Vikings defense looked like swiss cheese during this drive, but finaly held thier ground on a crucial 3rd and 2. Forcing the Packers to settle for a field goal thus tying the game. With only 24 seconds left on the clock and 1 time out, the Vikings special teams took to the field for one last ditch effort to win this game before OT.

Green Bay kicked the ball to Koren Robinson, who thus took it, waited for a few blocks and then tried to find a seem to break one loose. And he nearly did. Saved by a shoestring tackle as he was building up steam, Packer fans sighed a breath of relief. Culpepper then hit the field with a mission; Mission to get into field goal range. A quick little dump off to Moore netted 14 yards with 8 seconds remaining. The only plausable play seemed to be one last leave into the endzone. Culpepper didn't see it this way. With wisdom well beyond the arm chair quarterbacks, he hit Marcus Robinson on the sideline with a 12 yard gain, thus leaving the ball at the 38. Enter Edinger. The off-season pickup that many thought was a steal ran out onto the field to kick his longest field goal ever. 56 yards. Attempting to freeze Edinger, the Packers called a time-out. But you can't freeze ice, and Edinger was pure ice cold deadly. 2 seconds remain as the ball is snapped a little low, Brad Johnson does all in his power to set the ball up jsut as Edingers foot sweeps the ball into the air. Viking fans across the nation with fingers crossed pray to Thor for a true kick. Instantly fans recognize that the ball is heading for the space between the posts . . . but does it have the distance? Never has a ball hung up in the air for so long. The only thought running through the Metrodome was "Be long enough, Oh God please be long enough." Eyes are glued upon the refs for the call as the ball sails over the cross bar. The hands shoot up as all the fans in every bar in every city jump from thier seats in jubilation. The KICK WAS GOOD!!! Time has expired, no flags, and the Vikings have a 3 point victory over the worst of all rivals.

All songs are great after a win like this. A man can groove to anything, a smile stretches across his face for hours, and everyone is his friend. This type of win will make the whole week. A man is allowed to wear his jersey all day long in any setting. Life is good after beating the Packers. Life is sweet right now.

After an anemic first half, the Vikings sucked it up and came out as a team in the second half. Culpepper was still throwing his balls everywhere but perfect, but they were catchable. And the recivers caught those balls, refused to be tackled and in the high fashion of this rivalry, never gave up. The sweat of passion was dripping off of every Viking face as they refused to give up on thier season. The defense held strong when they needed to, and the offesnse produced whenever they got the ball. Although we did not play the entire game with this level of competitivness, the Vikings made up for thier first half follies with inspired play to end the game.

The Vikings have finally turned that corner. They came together as a team in the second half and gave ample justification to thier Super Bowl dreams. This was a huge emotional win for the Vikings in the face of recent allegations and off-field problems. A win that solidifies the team under one common goal. A win to propell a long stretch of wins. Detroit may still be a game up on us right now, seeing as they beat the Browns, but we face them head on next week to determine the NFC North leader.

Many people may say that the Packers are not a team to get excited about beating, but lets look at the play of Favre today. 28/36 315 yards and 2 touchdowns. Yet we shut him down in the second half and sent him home crying. We played a team coming off the bye week, and after a huge win against the Saints. We played a game in which records do not matter, only the amount of intesity each team is willing to produce. We won a close game that will be greatly overlooked due to the combined records of the teams. But this was a big win, this was a solidifying victory, this was the corner turned. Look for the Vikings to make a strong run from here on out. SKOL

Players of the Game - Pat Williams, Daunte Culpepper, Offensive line, Koren Robinson, and of course, Mr. 56 yarder Paul Edinger

Goats of the game - no one. This game was played with passion on both ends and thus no one deserves the distinction of being a goat, for either team.

What a game

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!!! Series tied a 44-44-1. Best rivalry in sports!

Vikings vs. Packers

2005-10-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Packers at Vikings

Another installment of the greatest rivalry in Sports.

The Vikings play host to the Packers this Sunday. A tale of two struggling teams at 1-4, this game is a must win for each side of the border. Playing in a division where 2 wins retains the #1 spot, the winner of this game would only be 1 game out at worst, and possibly take a share of the divisional lead. On the other hand, the still has the possiblity of remaining only one game behind a 2-4 division. This is essentially a springboard game for both teams, and one of the boards will break thus spiraling the losing team into obscurity.

The only win either team has been able to scrape up this year was against a homeless Saints team. Green Bay is coming off a blowout win two weeks ago, and the benefit of the bye last week. Minnesota came out of the bye last week to be embarrassed by the Bears. Neither team has proven themselves capable of playing a real squad and thus the battle this week seems to be the game to decide the biggest loser. But do not expect sub-par football this week, this rivalry has some serious bad blood. Expect some heated disputes, hard hitters, and a full out effort worthy of a Super Bowl performance. This may be the closest either of these teams will get to a big game this year (except the next Vikings Packers game).

The Vikings come into this game heathier than they have been all year. Nate Burleson returns to the field as the Vikings top reciever this week. He had been out for the past 3 games due to a sprained knee. Also, Brian Williams (he who shall not be named . . . again) will take the field and attempt to provide some sort of help in the secondary, although it is unlikely that "he who shall not be named" could help out a Pop Warner football team.

The Packers have essentially been supporting the crutches market this year with tons of injuries to key players. Some of these players will be making thier first returns to the field this week, but are still listed questionable. Aman Green and Bubba Franks look to make some contributions, but are not yet up to full steam. Davenport, Diggs, and Flanagan are reported to miss the game

The Vikings have had a problem gelling as a team so far this year. The gears have not been working in unison thus allowing the complete breakdown of the offense. In the 10 halfs the Vikings offense has played this year, only 1 was worthy of note. But rumors of a "team" developing in Minnesota have slipped under the national radar. Tice commented that the team was finally working together towards a common goal this week in practice. This has been one of the Vikings biggest problems this year, the lack of team work. Some times the line will perform when Daunte falters. Some times the backs have to carry a disproportionate load while the receivers drop balls. And sometimes the line breaks down when Daunte is heating up. The end result is always the same, and the cause is always the same . . . lack of teamwork. If the Vikings can come out to the Metrodome this week and appear as though all 11 men are working towards the same end, we may have a big win on our hands.

The defense of the Vikings as been great at times and non-existant at times. The bi-polar disorder of the defense has shown us what they are capable of, and what they are capable of allowing. Either they shut down the offense or they make them look like gods. Look for a rejuvinated Vikings defense this week as they face thier biggest rival. Look for Sharper to prove himself in front of his former mates, look for line to provide relentless pressure, combined with a series of brilliant blitzing packages. Big games bring the greatest defenses out of the slumber. This defense has the ability to be great, and thus look for a fantastic performance.

Essentially this game comes down to the serious mutual hatred of one another. Packer fans hate Vikings fans, and Vikings fans hate Packers fans, Packer Players hate Vikings players, and Vikings players hate Packer players. Last year the Vikings lost two close games that came down to poor official calls. The Vikings enacted their revenge in the most important match-up of last year, a 31-17 romp on the frozen January tundra. The series is currently at 43-44-1 in favor of the Packers. But that will change this week as the Vikings looks to enact revenge for the two close losses last year. Look for a fantastic game where both teams leave it all out on the field. They have to because the loser will most likely continue to spiral while the winner changes course and looks to the next week with fire in thier eyes. Rivalry games can change a whole teams outlook on the season.

Prediction - The winner of this game wins the NFC North

Vikings 27

Packers 24

Players of the Game - Nate Burleson, Koren Robinson, Moe Williams, Sharper

Goats of the Game - Favre, the Packer o-line

This will possibly be Favre last visit to the Metrodome so look for fans to let him know it. The stadium will reach fever pitches as the fans forget about the previous 5 games and stupid scandals and gel under the common purpose of the VIKINGS - PACKERS game. Watch Favre run off the field in tears as the fans get on him relentlessly.

Don't forget to wear your best lucky combonation of clothing for this game, as if I needed to tell you.

SKOL VIKINGS SKOL!!!

Welcome SuperAhYo

2005-10-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

Vikings Review would like to welcome SuperAhYo to the this site. SuperAhYo is a long-time loyal Vikings Fan who absolutly hates the Packers and Broncos. But don't we all? SuperAhYo is a very smart man with some great insights on the Vikings and NFL. Welcome SuperAhYo, looking forward to your opinion.

SKOL VIKINGS!!!

Mr. Weatherstone

VIKINGS - PACKERS WEEK!!!!!!

2005-10-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

Packer Joke of the Day

Once upon a time, long, long ago there was a season when neither the Packers nor the Vikings made the post season playoffs. It seemed so unusual that the management of both teams got together and decided that there should be some sort of competition between the two teams, because of their great rivalry. So, they decided on a week long ice fishing competition. The team that catches the most fish at the end of the week wins. So on a cold northern Wisconsin lake they began their contest. The first day after 8 hours of fishing the Vikings had caught 100 fish and the Packers had 0. At the end of the 2nd day the Vikings had caught 200 fish and the Packers 0. That evening the Packers coach got his team together and said, "I suspect some kind of cheating is taking place." So the next morning he dressed one of his players in purple and gold and sent him over to the Viking camp to act as a spy. At the end of the day he came back to report to the coach. The coach asked, "Well, how about it, are they cheating?" "They sure are!" the player reported, "They're cutting holes in the ice."

Runner Up Joke of the Day

A Packer fan, a Viking fan and Cindy Crawford are sitting together in a train traveling through Northern Wisconsin when the train enters a tunnel and the car goes completely dark. There's a kissing noise, and then the sound of a really loud slap. When the train comes out of the tunnel, Cindy Crawford and the Viking fan are sitting as if nothing had happened and the Packer fan is holding his slapped face. The Packer fan is thinking, "The Viking fan must have kissed Cindy Crawford and she swung at him and missed, slapping me instead." Cindy Crawford is thinking, "The Packer fan must have tried to kiss me, accidentally kissed the Viking fan and got slapped for it." And The Viking fan is thinking, "This is great. The next time the train goes through a tunnel, I'll make another kissing noise and slap that f****** Packer fan again."

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!! VIKINGS - PACKERS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vikings Sex Scandal - Must Read

2005-10-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

MUST READ - VIKINGS REVIEW CLASSIC
(so controversial, the NSA is even reading this . . . no kidding)

In response to the increased traffic to this site due to the recent Minnesota Vikings sex scandal, I feel I must reverse my position of non-involvement and offer a bit of social critique.

It is hard to ignore the fact that sports athletes are role models in this day and age. I hold the firm belief that sports stars should not be role models or held in any esteem above and beyond thier actions of the playing field. They should be regarded as superior in thier athletic abilities and looked up to for this reason only. For all other aspects of thier lives, they should be judged on the same level as any normal person.

It says something about our society when we peer into the personal lives of sports hero's for our role models. Basically that we are focused more on entertainment than the real unsolved issues plauging our nation. How is it that the Toledo race riot last weekend got less air time than a football sex scandal? A healthy society would be discussing the arguement of the Right to March, the Right to Protest, and the mindset that poverty breeds in this nation. These are real issues. Sex on a boat is not a real issue. Race riots are far more devastating than a simple moral lapse by a few football players. The question of "What effect does 300 years of oppression and second class citizenry have on the mindset of a particular race" is far more important than "How did Grandma feel when see saw a Vikings winky on a boat in the middle of a lake?" This basically says that our society is no longer willing to tackle the tough issues. It is far more appealing to gossip about meaningless crap than serious issues. Our society has adopted the "Seinfeld" attitude as evidenced in our transformation from the brave men willing to die for an idea, to the "whatever, and f*ck it attitude. We were once a nation of sacrifice and strong men, we are now the powerder puff pansies of history.

For arguements sake, lets say that sports stars are role models and there is nothing we can do about it. Fine. Then the first thing we must do is too look at what the media, and the those whom the media panders to, look for in a story. Do we look to build the sports star "role model" up, or do we look to tear him down? We scream and cry "outrage" when a sports star provides a bad example to the children. We watch endless clips and commentary on how degraded this action was. We are essentially glued to whatever bad happens. But what about all the good sports stars do for the community. Do we ever hear about the churches, or schools, or daycares, or other community service sports stars undertake? No. We don't want to hear about anything good from sports stars. That would be boring. But immorality on the other hand is juicy, and entertaining, and this interests us.

Example- Randy Moss. Yes, Randy Moss. Moss did a lot for the local Minneapolis/St. Paul community. But in order to find out what he did, you had to read pretty deep into some of the articles and interviews he gave. Apparently getting the whole story and accurately portraying a man is a little too difficult and boring. We would rather jump on the bandwagon and denounce him for every little thing he did wrong. Do you think the media did not jump all over this? The media knows exactly what you want to see and hear. They know you don't care about some do-gooder, you want the dirt. And they gave you the dirt and spared you any real thinking by not offering up the other side of his personality. They played you like a fiddle, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.

What about all the other things the NFL players do for the community? We do not pay attention to any of this. But, the second they screw up, we are on thier asses. We are pathetic.

But why do we want to skip the good side, and instead hunt for the dirt? Point #1 - We think sports stars are great. We know that these guys are (a) more athletic than us, (b) better paid than we are (c) get more chicks than we do, (d) and overall, have a better life than we do. We are envious of these guys because they seem to have a better life than we do. We are jealous. We want what they have, and if we can't have that, we tear them down. Beating up a guy is a lot easier than trying to be as good as that guy. Our ego's can't sustain the idea that someone is better than us, or at least percieved to be better than us. We tear them down to bring them to our level based primarly upon our own feelings of worthlessness or inferiority. We do not want to hear about all the good things the NFL players are doing, that would make them better than us. We want the dirt because we are petty weaklings with an inferiority complex. We are pathetic.

The media knows we have this raging inferiority complex, and in the great capitalistic spirit, they give us what we want. The reason sports stars are not good role models for children is because of YOU! YOU are the one demanding the dirt instead of positive reporting that highlights a players good side. YOU are the one propelling this media machine that showcases the negitive side of sports stars. YOU are the one demanding that your children are subjected to this crap everyday. DO NOT BLAME THE PLAYERS, BLAME YOURSELVES AND YOUR RAGING COMPLEXES. But I understand that looking for the good in a person is difficult, even if they do all kinds of good things. Basically, it is just not interesting. But on the other hand, you scream about how hard you work to raise your kids in a good enviroment. Basically, your a hypocrite. If you really wanted to work for a world in which you could raise your children in a decent manner, you would work hard to not pay attention to this "bush league" reporting coming from the media. You would demand that they at least provide pairity in thier portrayal of sports stars. But that might require some effort, so I understand, you lazy SOB.

If you came to this site by using the search words"Vikings Scandal" you should be ashamed of yourself. You look for the evil in people because looking for the good might fracture your fragile ego. You have an inferiority complex, and the sense of rage you feel about this scandal is merely the deep down feelings you hold for yourself. You are a discredit to your generation, your nation, and to your species. This scandal is your fault, the negitive portrayal of sports stars is your fault, and your outrage because of the children is your fault. But seeing as how reading this whole article might be a little difficult, I have a feeling that the past paragraph was written to no-one. We were once a nation of great men, thank to you we are a nation of panisies.

Congratulations, YOU'RE A PIECE OF SHIT.

Mr. Weatherstone

VIKINGS - PACKERS WEEK!!!!!

2005-10-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

Jermaine "Karate Kid" Wiggins demonstrates the proper way to deal with Packer Fans.

Joke of the Day

In an annual pre-game tradition, Viking Fans and Packer Fans line up along the Minnesota - Wisconsin border to root for their team.

The celebration ussually starts out with chants and insults flying back and forth bewtween the two camps.

After a few beers, the Packer fans ussually start to throw firecrackers at the Viking Fans on the other side. Viking Fans, being offended at such a rude display of team pride, pick up the fireworks, light them and chuck 'em back.

GO VIKINGS!!!!

Monday Preparation

In preparation for the big Vikings - Packers game this week, the Packers held a scrimage. The Packers first team went against the second stringers in a full contact practice. After three hours, neither team had scored. The second string was extremely tired and all ran off the field to get some water. Brett Favre, seeing an oppurtunity to win the scrimage kept the offense on the field. Three plays later the Packer first stringers scored.

VIKINGS - PACKERS WEEK!!!!!!!

2005-10-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Picture courtesy of Ivanhoeal at Vikings Board, Absolutly brilliant!

Green Bay Packer Joke of the day

On a tour of Texas, the Pope took a couple of days off to visit the coast for some sightseeing. He was cruising along the beach in the pope-mobile when there was a frantic commotion just off shore.

A helpless man wearing a Green Bay Packer jersey was struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a 25-foot shark. As the Pope watched, horrified, a speedboat came racing up with three men wearing Minnesota Viking jerseys. One quickly fired a harpoon into the shark's side. The other two reached out and pulled the bleeding, semi-conscious Packer Backer from the water, Then, using long clubs, the three beat the shark to death and hauled it into the boat.

Immediately the Pope shouted and summoned them to the beach. "I give you my blessing for your brave actions," he told them. "I heard that there was bitter hatred between Green Bay Packers & Vikings fans, but now I have seen with my own eyes that this is not true."

As the Pope drove off, the harpooner asked his buddies "who was that"? "It was the Pope," one replied. "He is in direct contact with God and has access to all of God's wisdom." "Well," the harpooner said, "he may have access to God's wisdom, but he doesn't know anything about shark fishing. Is the bait holding up O.K., or do we need to get another one"?

Skol Vikings!!!! Green Bay Packers SUCK !!! (For those of you who went to through the Wisconsin educational system: grEaN bEy PakKers suK)

NO CHEESE ZONE!!!

VIKINGS vs. PACKERS WEEK!!! All WEEK LONG!!!

2005-10-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's the bi-annual VIKINGS vs. PACKERS week

all week here at Vikings Review!!!!

The two most important weeks of every year, Vikings at Packers and Packers at Vikings. The greatest rivalry in sports renews itself once again this week in the Metrodome. Frequent reports of insomnia plauge doctors offices all throughout the midwest as anxious fans await another installment of football at its finest.

The Vikings were thwarted by two very key bad calls last year in each of the Vikings Packers games. As if Thor felt some sort of injustice, the Mighty Norsemen raped and pilliaged Lambeau Field in January. Revenge was ever so sweet. Most people really didn't care that we lost to the Eagles the next week, just as long as we beat the Packers.

This week the 1-4 Packers visit the 1-4 Vikings. The season can be considered a success if the Vikings can rebound and win two more games this year, but they both have to be against the Packers.

Feel free to list your most favorite Viking Packer moments in the comments!!!!

SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the NO CHEESE ZONE!!!!!!!!

A new post everday during Viking Packer Week!!!!

Vikings 3 - Bears 28

2005-10-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Vikings 3 - Chicago Bears 28

It's time to bring the ship back to shore and replace the captain. Culpepper actually was able to invoke feelings that I have not felt since Warren Moon. Pure incompetence. The only thing successful Culpepper was able to do today was to lead the team down the road of failure. And he did one hell of a job at that. Congrats Daunte, you have managed to go from a great quarterback, to joining the ranks of such classic failures as Ryan Leaf.

Critics and professional analysists will scream that Randy Moss is the reason why Daunte is falling apart this season . . . they are wrong. It would not matter if Randy was on the field, Daunte would not get the ball anywhere near him anyways. High School quarterbacks can ussually hit a reciever on the run, lead the reciever, thus allowing the reciever to gain a few extra yards. Culpepper could not hit a simple button hook with any accuracy. Every pass was thrown behind a reciever, too far above the recievers head, or so damn low that ants started to buy fire insurance for thier hills. You would think that just out of pure luck he could have hit a reciever in the numbers, but Daunte is a statistical anomoly that would baffle Einstien. There is no way Randy Moss would have brought about a different outcome in any of the games this year.

Point #1 - Daunte has a better receiving corp this year. Yes we did lose Randy Moss in the off season, but we gained far better secondary receivers that should have easily covered the Moss loss. Koren Robinson may be a drunk, but he is no slouch on the football field. We still have Wiggins, and Marcus Robinson is in a far better playing condition, with more motivation than he had last year.

Point #2 - Daunte holds the ball too long before making a decision. We may be having problems with our offensive line, but it does not help matters when they have to block for 10 seconds on every play.

Point #3 - The accuracy of Daunte Culpepper is absolutly devestating to his confidence. The reason he probably sits back in the pocket for so long is because he does not trust himself to make the hard accurate throw. He looks at a receiver, decides he can't make the throw, looks at around, but he does not trust himself to make any throws. Then he gets sacked. Tice is probably yelling at him on the sidelines to get rid of the ball, so he goes out there and throws into impossible coverage in an attempt to make something happen.

Culpeppers lack of confidence in his ablility to make an accurate throw, coupled with increasing pressure to get rid of the ball, leads him down the road of bad decisions. He will continue to throw terrible passes and often times into heavy coverage until he learns to trust himself. He does not have a keen sense of awareness of his ability. He is the most destructive force on this team right now because of this. It is time that he gets benched until he learns to trust himself. Bring in Brad Johnson for a few games, let Daunte cool down, relax, and get back some of his confidence on the sidelines. If it never comes back, so be it. We cannot allow our past love of Daunte to interfere with winning football games. He was great in the past, but he is losing games for us now.

The only novelty that Daunte has over Johnson is that he has the ability to run. But Daunte does not run anymore. The asset that made him rise above the average qb in the past, grows dustier and dustier each week. Brad Johnson may not be able to run, but he has proven himself to be an accurate quarterback all throughout his career. I fully believe that it is time to make the switch. BRAD JOHNSON FOR QUARTERBACK!!!!

The Defense was not that bad this week, they were just put in bad situations. They forced 3 turnovers and defended the pass pretty decently. The running game was another story though, as Thomas Jones rushed for 2 Td's and nearly a 4 yard per carry average. Missing a 40 yard field goal puts the defense in bad field position to start, let alone allowing a 21 yard average on punt returns. The Defense is not to blame for this loss.

Edinger, like I predicted, was one of today's goats. Missing 3 of 4 field goal attempts is inexcusable. I don't care if you tripped, or if one was blocked, the second missed attempt was one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. NO excuses Edinger, no excuses. You get paid to make kicks on astroturf and grass.

Mewalde Moore seemed to take a page from the Michael Bennet school of running today. He looked absolutly tired, lethargic, and jsut plain lazy. He lacked heart, just like Bennett, he fell down quickly, just like Bennett, and jsut plain pissed me off all game, just like Bennett.

It is obvious that Mike Tice's days are numbered in Minnesota, but I am taking the stance that he should not be fired until the off-season. There is no point in instituting an interm coach for the rest of the season, the players will not listen nor respect the replacement. Essentially we will be starting a whole lot of drama for no reason at all. The Vikings seem to do this quite fine already anyways.

In recap, pathetic game. The majority of the burden rests upon Culpeppers shoulders though. He is continuing to hurt this team each week he plays. He has lost all confidence and is afraid to make a standard pass. The Running game is not without blame either, Moore laid down today and never established the run. And Special teams took 9 points off the board. There is not a whole lot to look forward to next week. Maybe we just wont embrass ourselves as badly as we have against the rest of the NFL. After all it is the best rivalry in sports, if we cannot get up for the next game, we need to cut bait on this year and look for new quarterbacks and head coaches.

Game Day Hero - Pat Williams, 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and the only guy who looked motivated

Game Day Goats - Daunte Culpepper, Paul Edinger, Mewalde Moore

Skol Vikings, or something like that. Whatever

Mr. Weatherstone

Vikings at Bears

2005-10-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Vikings at Bears

12pm Central

RIVALRY GAME!

This week looks to be a very important game for both the Vikings and the Bears. Both teams can at steal a share of the divisional lead if the Lions lose. In a division that is as seemingly weak as the NFC North, all teams are in the race regardless of thier record.

The Vikings will be looking to put behind the Sex Boat allegations this week with a win, thus shifiting the national focus from thier off-field exploits, to thier on-field pilliaging. But considering the Vikings last game against the Falcons, thier on field pilliaging is nothing to really talk about. At least with the Sex Boat scandal, no one really focused on thier terrible performance on the field this year.

The Bears have also had thier problems on-field this year. They have a had a highly regarded defense coming into the year, like the Vikings, but also like the Vikings it has seemed to be more in terms of payroll size than performance. Lovie Smith was quoted as saying, ""We're set up to avoid the big play. Teams have to earn it a little at a time. We're not set up to give up big plays like that. We're not supposed to lose games like that, so yes, it's disappointing."

Look for the Vikings to nickle and dime the Bears defense all day, with little dump off passes, runs up the middle, and quick button hooks, ins and outs. The Vikings may not have the big play threat anymore due to the weakened offesive line, but Culpepper proved last year that he was able to hit the little guy with regularity. If Moore and Williams can set up the running game, we should be able to sustain long drives and keep the defense on the field for long periods of time. If we can wear out the defense with old fashioned football, wee may open up that deep threat. Make sure to keep a close eye of the offensive play calling this week. This could be the major factor in the outcome.

Major focus should also be on Daunte Culpepper this week. Keep a close eye on how he plays and juxtapose it with last year. It seems as though he has regressed greatly from last year. Some may claim that he does not have the O-line he used to have, some may say that he does no have the same quality of recievers. But when it comes down to it, he has made some retarded passes this year. He is taking too much time in the pocket, throwing the ball late, and always way off target. Depending upon his performance this week, there may be calls to institute Brad Johnson as the starter for a week. We have made quarterback switches in mid-season in the past, namely with Brad Johnson. Brad Johnson may be getting a little older, but he can hit the open reciever and has good vison. Considering we are in a close divisional race right now, and the guy manning the rudder is drunk, a change of QB may be a good move. But Daunte must prove himself incapable before this should happen. It is Daunte's job to lose.

The Bears are coming into this game with one of the lowest scoring offenses in the League (26th), and one of the worst passing games also (30th). The Vikings come into this game with a defense that has given up 26.8 points per game (27th), and the worst run defense in the league, giving up 178 yards per game. The Vikings should be able to shut down the passing game but may have to deal with an injured Thomas Jones with a 4.8 yard average. Kyle Orton will be starting as QB for the Bears, which does not really mean anything. Second stringers historically have a way of suprising the Viking defense.

Changes to the norm that will be made this week

Newman for Harris

Johnson in for Udeze

Goldberg for Johnson

Withrow will be replace by Fowler

Sharper Returns

This game will be a close one as two second rate offenses take on two second rate defenses. Look to the playcalling from the sidelines to determine who will attempt to take a share of the divisional lead.

Score Prediction - Vikings 17 Bears 14

Gameday Hero's - Sharper, Wiggins, and Brian Williams for not playing

Gameday Goat's - Goldberg, Edinger

"SERIES HISTORY - 89th meeting. Minnesota the leads series, 47-39-2, including playoffs, but hasn't won in Chicago since 2000. The Vikings, who have played the Bears more than any other opponent, are 20-21-2 against Chicago on the road." (Foxsports.com)

Skol Vikings, let's win the game!!!

Vikings Scandal

2005-10-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

I will not give acknowldgement to the recent so-called scandal that is rocking the Vikings ship. This is a piece of "reality tv" journalism that appeals to only the most dim witted of fans. It is nothing but fodder for those looking to scream against the NFL and the Vikings. It is "bush league" reporting for a "bush league" newspaper. I am not entirely suprised that ESPN has picked this up an made it national news either. They seem to be focusing more on the lifestyle of the athletes over the actual games they play. ESPN and the rest of the media that is covering this crap story should seriously consider hiring quality reporters that can bring about a real scoop. They should be ashamed of themselves for focusing more on the off field happenings rather than the on field matchups. They are a sports channel, not a social gossip channel. Give me the scores. Period. I don' t need to worry about what some rich football player does on a lake. If I did, there is always 60 minutes and Mike Wallace for that

Should we care about the scandal? NO. We did not start watching football and other sports because they canceled our favorite soap opera. We watch because we love the game, or the competion, of the history of the team. What players do on thier own time is their business, and none of ours. Players should not be role models either. Throwing a ball 75 yards is really neat, but in no way compares to the great social and scientific achievments others have achieved in the past, and those that are continually being made everyday.

For a great arguement on why sports stars should not be role models, please visit The Four Hoarsemen.

I have given this issue to much time already,

Skol Vikings Skol

Sorry about the delay

2005-10-06T00:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay in the analysis for the Vikings Falcons game. I have been very busy with law school crap the past week and therfore unable to write a decent review of the Vikings game. As this week wraps up, I should be able to put forth adequate time to write a decent review of the Great Viking failure last week. Also a decent preview of the Bye week . . . I dont think we will lose any games, but never say never, and a decent prediction on the upcoming Bears game. Thank You for your patience, feel free to cuss me out in the comments section.

Mr. Weatherstone

Falcons only natural enemy: Vikings since 1998

2005-09-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-26T00:49:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

Vikings v. Bengals

Battle of the ???

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

2005-09-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

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

Vikings 19 - Chargers 16

2005-08-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Troy Williamson the newest face of the Vikings Recieving Corps that is looking to hold up thier end of the deal in getting to the Super Bowl

Another win for the Minnesota Vikings. The Defense did not disappoint today as they held the Chargers to 7 first half points. If we can hold the other team to 7 points a half for the rest of the season, we definetly have a great chance at the Super Bowl.

Our offense is still not as high powered as it has been in the past few years, although I will argue with anyone that we have possibly one of the best Quarterbacks the Vikings have ever seen. Dante came into his own last year, took ownership of the team, and is ready to lead us to our first Super Bowl win in franchise history.

The Randy question has not been completely answered yet. Will the recievers be able to produce at the same level without Randy taking up half the secondary? I dont even think this is an issue if we have Dante at the helm. He has matured into a brilliant quaterback with great vision, and he is willing to make a quick little throw to the tight ends. The question that we might ask in reference to the offense is to whether the O-Line will be able to protect Dante long enough to get a flat receiver open. If they do, we have nothing to worry about.

The main point being that the Vikings won the game today. Good and decent defensive effort and some good offense combined to create the win in front of the Viking faithful. Great game boys. Let's take this winning spirit into the regular season, and most definetly Green Bay. Make Favre wish he would have never returned for another seanson.

Go Vikings lets win the game. Go Vikings la la lala. V-I-K-I-N-G-S, go Vikings, Skol

Vikings vs. Chargers

2005-08-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

Vikings vs. Chargers

"Battle of the . . . "

Nevermind, its just preseason

Installment three of the preseason . . . season. The Minnesota Vikings invite the San Diego Chargers to the Twin Cities this Friday. As you remember the Chargers are not that bad of a team. They did make the playoffs last year and had a pretty decent chance at getting by the New York Jets, until Nate Kaeding missed a last second field goal. He was a rookie, so all Charger fans should cut him a little slack. He kicked great at the Univeristy of Iowa and should develop into a long term player like Andersen and Anderson. The point being, this is not a scrub team, which happend to run us to death a few years ago.

On that note, we do have a better defense this year than back in 2003. Keep a close eye on the Vikings defense in the first 2 quarters, see how they play, see how they handle a great running back. If they can step up, lick their wounds from last week, and basically play like they belong in the NFL, we may see a sign of good things to come this year. Also keep and eye on the secondary as the Vikings once again have to prove to thier fans that they deserve to be on the field. Brian Williams, we are looking at you.

It will be intersting to see how many of the special team screwups from last week will be on the front lines. I would tend to think that if the same mistakes happen this week, as happend last week, we might see a few faces gone.,

Also, pay close attention to Dante and the reiciveing corps. They are going to be the make or break squad this year in our run to the Super Bowl. If they look as they had the past few games, I think we can start to make reservations in Detroit. If they look bad, tough times are in store again this year.

"Go Vikings, lets win the game. Go Vikings . . . la la lala. V-I-K-I-N-G-S, go Vikings skol."

Even if it is preseason, its still football.

Jets 28 Vikings 21

2005-08-20T00:34:00.000-07:00

The picture shown is of Tenacious "B". The new face of our recieveing corps, and the the guy who could stand in the same room as Chris Walsh.

So maybe I didn't get the score right. So maybe I thought to highly of the Vikings defense. We lost, the defense looked like something that came out of a homeless man's rear, and don't get me started on special teams. We lost, alot more than the score indicates.

To start off, what the hell is with Brian Williams? Has this guy been playing in the leauge for a few years now, or did we just grab him out of high school? The touchdowns I saw him let slide by indicated the latter. First of all, he was more focused on back peddling than covering the reciever. Then to let another touchdown slide by while he is covering the same reciever, on an inverse pattern? Seriously. These guys are professionals for a reason, they should know how to play. I would expect this type of coverage in Pop Warner, but not the NFL.

The running game looked weak as hell today also. I have trouble figuring out whose problem this is to blame upon, the line or Bennett. I am thinking Bennett is to shoulder most of the blame,
A) the fumble
B) the lack of juking skills after the line opened up a huge hole.

Special Teams, absolutly looked scared out of thier wits today. Pathetic is all I have in a response to the horrible play and turnovers caused by the red headed step children.

On a positive note, Dante looked great today. The recieveing corps looked absolutly fantastic. Dante was able to hook up with a vareity of recievers and for a large sum of yards. My favorite being the 3rd and 22, 42 yd completetion to Robinson. Great play, great juke, great gain in yards. The receiving corps found a way to get open and Dante found a way to get them the ball. It is looking as though the offense might be carrying the team again this year, but defense is still not as bad as it has been, except Brian Williams.

Skol Vikings, lets win the game.

Vikings vs. Jets

2005-08-19T00:54:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Jets

There is still not to much to get excited about, remeber it is still pre-season. This game also has somewhat of a personal meaning also, as an old college roommate, and an old army buddy were Jets fans. Still one cannot look past the fact that this game is virtually meaningless.

The defense will be out in force again this week, hopefully shutting down the not so high powered offense of the Jets. One thing to keep an eye on is the recieving corps of the Vikings. This corp could be the make or break players in our upcoming season. If they look smart, quick, and willing to take a hit, we just may have Super Bowl dreams this year. Another thing to watch is Culpepper's options to running backs and tight ends. If our recievers break down, these secondary recievers often prove to be life savers. Culpepper used this group well last year, and hopefully it was not a fluke.

Prediction - Vikings 27 Jets 17. Most Jets point will come in the second half.

Vikings Review

Vikings 27 - Chiefs 16

2005-08-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

Things are at least starting off looking like the 1998 season. As some of you remember the Vikings won all their pre-season games that year. While I know that the pre-season is meaningless, none the less, a win is a win.

Nate Burleson showed up today and made the statement that there is life after Randy. While our recieving corps took a hit this offseason, we still have some pretty decent guys running down the field trying to catch balls.

While we are on the subject of running down the field, Moore allevitated some fears about the running game. We may have lost the "Whizzanator Perpatrator" for the season, but the depth chart is still as deep as it was last year.

How about the defense. Considering that starters ussually don't play past the first half in preseason games, the Vikings were showing shades of Tony Dungy, holding the Chiefs to a field goal in the first half. Considering the Chiefs had one of the better offenses in the leauge last year, being able to shut them down in the first half with all the starters signals that good times are in store.

It's going to be a good season, with evidence of this already sprouting out of the rubberized dirt of the Metrodome. The defense held up, the receiveing corps responed with "Randy who?", and the running game has not skipped a beat. Brad Johnson the good luck charm, bringing division titles back to the Twin Cities. All we need to do now is get to the Super Bowl. Considering our record of 0-4 in the big game, I would have to say that we are due. This is our year.

Skol

Preseason Kickoff

2005-08-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

Preseason Thriller

Chiefs Vs. Vikings

Although Preseason games mean nothing, this is more of a personal rivalry between me and the brother. In addition it will be intersting to see the Vikes back in action after a long spring and summer. It will be good to see the brief appearances from Dante, and to see how much talent the rookies are starting out with. Hopefully they will not be a bunch of Brock Lesnars. (No offense Webster, SD residents, he was never NFL caliber.

Why this year is our year.

2005-08-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

Brad Johnson is back. I know he is only playing as a backup quarterback, but we tend to have great years with him as a back up. Maybe he is a good luck charm. I don't know, I try not to question it as it might make the luck turn sour. We have two great quarterbacks, would have had 3 great running backs (whizzinator gig), a secondary that is shaping up to be one of the best in the leauge, a defensive line that is good and will only get better throughout the year, and finally linebackers that might be able to tell the differance between a run and passing play.

Good Points for the Vikes:

Quarterback
Running Back
Tight Ends
Secondary
D-Line
Linebackers
Chemistry? We will see how much of a negitive impact Randy had on the team. (I doubt he was a negitive influence at all)

Needs Work:

Special Teams - A kicker would be nice, we will see how the Bears transplant does on fake grass
Offensive Line - While not the worst group in the NFL, they were riddled by injuries last year, taking time away from Dante
Offensive Co-ordinator - He's new. Enough said. We will see if he know how to press the accelerator
Defensive Co-ordinator - he is still unproven, yet to make a positive impression on the fans. But last year he didn't have a lot of good ingrediants.
Head Coach - Was it Tice's fault the Vikes decide not to play the last halfs of the seasons? We will see.

Predictions for the year: 12-4, Division Champs, Possibly Super Bowl (depending on the offense)

Skol Vikings Fans

2005-08-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

Although Randy may be gone, this is still a great image of the future for the Packers. The Packers, a team in decline, will have to deal with a revamped Vikings defense. You can almost see the tears in Favre's eyes right now as he tries to figure out why he came back for one more season.

This year is billing up to be a great one for the Minnesota faithful. I would like to say shades of '98' but there are some glaring differences.

Difference number one being that we don't have the same recieving corps that we did in 1998. We have a couple of great running backs, a better quarterback, a potentially great defense, and a head coach that is ready to become a legend.

Great thing number 2, we got rid of Linehan. The old lady behind the wheel of a sports car has slowed us down for too many years now. Hopefully we can put someone in the offensive coordinator position that will let the Vikes run wild. We got the tools, we got the plan, we are in the right division. . . Do I smell a super bowl?

Skol Vikings Skol