Vikings Come Up Short Against Pack, Killa Cam Awaits in Week 8

The best QB in the NFL. *Wipes Eye*

Welcome back to Odin's Eye ladies and gentlemen! Week 7 marked the beginning of the Christian Ponder era, and boy did it start with a bang. Michael Jenkins came inches away from being the guy with 50+ yard touchdowns on two different players' first ever NFL pass, taking a nice double-move route 72 yards. Two plays later, CP7 had his first career touchdown pass and the state of Minnesota let out a collective sigh of relief. We may have a franchise quarterback.

Speaking of franchise quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers was surgical against us as I predicted. This man is the best quarterback in the league and has been. Some folks have been keeping the Bradys and Mannings of the world above him, but you simply cannot deny it any longer. Manning and Brady have been doing it for longer and that may be why some people give them the nod over Rodgers, but let's get real. How often do you see either of those guys roll out at full speed and with a flick of the wrist, drop a ball 35 yards upfield right into their receivers' chest? The man is a beast. Rodgers finished with 335 yards, 3 touchdowns, and only 6 incompletions (Oh, and one discount double-check). He sits atop the league with a robust 125.7 passer rating. In case you are wondering, the record for passer rating in a season is 121.1, set by Peyton Manning in 2004, so he's not just playing well, he's playing record-breakingly well.

What I did not predict however, was Christian Ponder pumping some life into what was an absolutely stagnant offense only a week ago. Sure, he went 13-32 and threw two pretty bad picks to Charles Woodson, who was quoted as saying he thought he should have had four (He did have 4 decent opportunities, but the 2 he converted were especially easy). These are areas he will need to improve on, as one was just a forced throw on an out to Shiancoe and the other he simply needed to get more loft on and the route was undercut by Woodson. HOWEVAH, he did something that Donovan McNabb had failed to do for six games and that was consistently convert third downs (9-16) and hit receivers between the numbers while doing it. Ponder showed some great improvisational skills and was at his best on rollouts, and I was very impressed with his ability to bounce back after completing ZERO passes in the 3rd quarter and throwing 2 interceptions within a three-throw span. He led us on a great drive to bring the score within 6, but fell just short on the next after being faced with a 98-yard field. The defense couldn't stop James Starks after we punted with little over 2 minutes left and 3 timeouts, and that was that. Eye-Catchers and Stink Eyes as well as a Week 8 preview, after the jump.





Week 7 Eye-Catchers

Jared Allen. - This section is starting to look more and more like a carbon copy of the previous week. You gotta admire a guy who comes to work every week and does exactly what is expected of him, even on a 1-win team. I don't see Dwight Freeney or Cameron Wake putting up record-pace numbers on their terrible teams. Congratulations to Jared, who had another 2 sacks on Sunday, setting the Vikings record for most consecutive games with a sack (9). He upped his season total to 11.5, leading the league and still on track to break Michael Strahan's single-season record of 22.5.

Adrian Peterson.- Again, I'm feeling a little repetitive, but Purple Jesus continues to prove that he is the best RB in the league. Anyone who thought it was Chris Johnson may have seen his season single-game high of 53 yards and then promptly shut their mouth. 175 yards, a touchdown, and even gained praise from the Packers. B.J. Raji was quoted as saying he is a definite Hall-of-Famer. Thanks for the analysis, captain obvious. Not a whole lot more to say here, besides that considering the fact that our O-Line is arguably the weakest part of our team, does anyone else ever wonder what AP would be doing behind one with multiple Pro Bowlers? Ponder that the next time you say we need to go WR in the first round this year.

Christian Ponder.- One game down, and hopefully a long career as a Viking ahead. Yes, there were a good handful of plays which he could use improvement on, but he looked promising. He hit receivers in stride, he is mobile, and he looks like a guy who is willing to take shots and throw down for his team. He took a couple big ones while running for his life and still completed passes. I was very pleased with about 75% of what I saw from him.


Stink Eyes:

Brian Robison. - Robison has been held without a sack for 2 straight weeks now after having a solid start to his 2011 campaign. He also kicked a guy in his junk. The latter will always get you automatic Stink Eye status here at OE.

Everyone on the defense not named Jared Allen. - Aaron Rodgers' passer rating for this game was 146.5 and he only had 6 incompletions all game. I can't even get too mad about that, since he has done pretty much the same thing against every other opponent he has faced this year. What I am disappointed in is that for at least the 2nd time this year, we had a chance to get the ball back and have an opportunity for a win and got the clock run out on us. All I'm saying is, this is not something that would have happened in any game from 2006-2009. Having the ability to consistently make that stop can be the difference between a team that is 1-6 and a team that is 4-3 or 5-2.

Bernard Berrian.- He was inactive for the 2nd time in three weeks, and as of today was waived by the team. All I can say about that is it's about time. Bernard Berrian is the poorest excuse for a number one receiver/deep threat in the NFL, and that's my word. He hasn't been good since 2008, but Berrian will always be remembered for his 99-yard touchdown against the Bears that season in primetime.


Up Next: Carolina Panthers (2-5)

Rookie of the Year frontrunner and all-around Swag Monster, Cam Newton

The Vikings are headed to Carolina next week to face last year's worst team in the league, into which Cam Newton has breathed new life and at least turned into a competitive team every week. I am excited to see him play as a pro for the first time other than looking at highlights. The duo of Newton and Steve Smith has been giving defenses fits all year, and the past two weeks their running game has improved as well. The Panthers are giving up over 130 yards per game on the ground, so look for another big game by Adrian Peterson this week.

It will be a tough game as no Vikings road game is ever easy, but I do believe it is a game we should win. Do I know a ton about the Panthers? No, I do not. I know that their best defensive player (and Miami alum) Jon Beason is out for the season, they have 2 pretty good running backs, and Smith and Newton have been tearing it up. The Vikings have a more talented team than the Panthers, but if we allow Cam to get out of the pocket and improvise, we will be in trouble. Steve Smith makes some of his biggest catches on broken plays by getting behind the defense, and we already saw that happen last week with Greeeeeeg Jennnnninnngs getting so open he was able to walk the last 20 yards of an 80-yard TD catch.

So, let's review: to win this game, the Vikings must keep Steve Smith in front of them, keep Cam Newton in the pocket, and let AP do his thing with Christian Ponder making accurate throws and hopefully not turning the ball over. If we do those things, it should add up to a Vikings victory. I believe it shall. Just let AP "run it". As always, thank you for reading! I have a test I should be studying for. See you folks later. SKOL!

Prediction: Vikings 27, Panthers 24.