Vikings 28, Texans 0 : Preseason Finale and Regular Season Thoughts

        Welcome back everyone. Today is a big day for every NFL team around the league and a hard day for many players. 27 players that have been working their tails off for the past 6 weeks are going to be either sent down to a practice squad or become a free agent and need to start brushing up on their insurance sales skills.We also found out today that Kevin Williams will be suspended for the first 2 games of the season, finally putting to rest the ridiculous StarCaps case that has drawn out for the past 3 years. One final piece of news: Odin's Eye recently hit 1,000 views!  To hit such a nice benchmark after only a month of existence is giving me some pretty good vibes. Thanks for reading everybody, I'll try my best to keep this stuff interesting. With all that said, let's get to last night's game, then I'll give some predictions the upcoming season in the NFC North Division.


Things I Liked:

Leaving defenders in his wake.

CP7. Christian Ponder looked like a decent quarterback last night. He still looked like a rookie to me, though. He had several late reads and another handful of missed targets. Ponder still isn't making NFL starter throws,  but his athleticism and improvisation ability is impressive. 8 runs for 61 yards for a quarterback isn't something most of us have been used to seeing the past oh, 6 years or so, and he also eluded some pretty fierce pass rushes in order to do so (but save us the spikes in blood pressure and learn how to slide please, Christian).  It was a little disheartening to see that Jake Locker went 15/17 with a touchdown on the ground and through the air for Tennessee, he looks like the real deal, but Ponder looks like he has the makings of a good QB as well. Just not yet.

Awasom, just Awasom.

Adrian Awasom. THIS GUY *Jon Gruden voice* needs to make the team if for no other reason than for his last name. He picked up 2 sacks, on one of which he stripped Texans rookie quarterback T.J. Yates. Awasom also caused a couple other rushed throws and that could be just enough to put him on the roster. However, if the front office chooses Stylez G. White over him, I suppose I won't be completely heartbroken.

'King of the night?

Caleb King. The Vikings just picked Caleb King up as an undrafted free agent after the Supplemental Draft, and he put the ball in the end zone twice. Just as I said above, that could be enough to at least put this rookie on our practice squad. We are pretty set as it is with our three RB's that didn't touch the field last night, but he looks good enough to give a slot on the practice squad.

The Godfather.

Chris Kluwe. He dropped two punts within the Texans' 10 yard line in the 1st quarter and he made up the name for the blog. Those two things combined get him a mention in this week's edition. If you have Twitter, follow him. (@ChrisWarcraft) He probably could get a mention every week under 'things I liked' just for how funny he is on there.


Things I Didn't Like:

Nothing! When you win 28-0 and no one is hurt, there can't be much to complain about. The defense and offense both had lapses and the Texans committed some drive-crippling penalties, but that's why they are playing in the 4th game of the preseason in the first place. Most of the guys that played extended time last night ideally won't be on the field much during the regular season. No one was hurt badly this entire preseason, the Vikings are headed into the opener pretty much completely healthy, and I'm excited to finally see some real f*cking football.

My Predictions for the NFC North:

Green Bay Packers. - They bring back almost every starter from their Super Bowl winning team of last year, they're healthy, and Aaron Rodgers is still getting better. It is going to be very tough to beat this Packers team as long as they stay healthy. I expect them to win the division and compete for home-field advantage in the playoffs. Damn, that last sentence really stings, eh?

Final Record: 13-3

Chicago Bears. -Coming off of 6 straight Pro Bowls, Lance Briggs is now requesting a trade as of today and creating a lovely distraction for my most hated team. Roy Williams was supposed to come in and give them a legitimate receiver. Turns out he likes to drop just as many balls and suck just as badly as he did in Dallas. Vernon Gholston was supposed to have a career rebirth here as a down lineman after 3 years in NY as an outside linebacker, he's already been cut. Their offensive line is just as bad as it was last year and I do not expect them to catch the breaks they did this time around. Their defense is still the same one it has been forever, but one year older. It will always be tough to beat the Bears for our Vikings, but overall I expect them to sink back into mediocrity.

Final Record: 7-9

Detroit Lions. - I'll say it straight up, Matthew Stafford looks like a f'ing stud horse this preseason. By all accounts, he is making some pretty sick throws so far and if he stays healthy, this could be a playoff contender. These are the Lions though, and until I see Matt Stafford make it through more than a quarter of a regular season of football, I can't just hand them a nice prediction. Their defensive backfield is still awful and again, these are the Lions. Detroit is just a black hole for any positive possibility. 

Final Record: 8-8

Minnesota Vikings. - Call me a homer, but I have high hopes for this year's team. Donny Mac looks comfortable as our quarterback, moreso than he ever did in Washington. People so soon forget how great of a player he was before last season. Adrian Peterson is not declining. He will still be the best runner in the league. Last year, sh*t went all haywire for the entire team and it seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong, did. Sure, that seems to happen to the Vikings a lot, but in my time as a fan we have always bounced back quickly. I think Percy Harvin will establish himself as an elite weapon in the league this year, Bill Musgrave will get a lot more out of the entire offense in general than Bevell or the KAO ever did, and maybe the defense will even make some plays. This year ain't our year, but it won't be anywhere near as ugly as it was last year. We will compete for the playoffs and maybe even pull out a playoff win before getting bounced by a more elite team like the Falcons, Packers or Eagles. It bears repeating though that this season will be without a doubt, more fun to watch than last season. I guarantee that.

Final Record: 10-6

NFC Championship: Packers 34, Eagles 20

AFC Championship: Ravens 27,  Jets 17


Super Bowl: Packers 24, Ravens 20. I'm sorry to say that as I look at this Packers team and think about how they tore through the playoffs while still missing some important players, I can't help but feel like as long as they are healthy they will be the best team in the league. Jermichael Finley is a beast of a TE and if he stays on the field he will make the Pro Bowl, mark my words. Aaron Rodgers is still going to get better, which is scary. He is amazing at eluding pass rushers in the pocket, throwing on the run and hitting his receivers where only they can make a play on the ball. Damn him for being a Packer.The Falcons and Eagles also have a good chance of making a run in the playoffs. The Falcons' offense and the Eagles' secondary both have scary potential.The Ravens have been close to getting over the hump (a.k.a. the Steelers) for the past two years, and I believe this year might finally be their year. They added a great deep threat in Lee Evans that might still have something in him as well as Andre Gurode for their OL. They were only a play or two away from bouncing the Steelers last year in the playoffs, and I'm sayin' this year is the year Joe Flacco finally outduels Big Ben. The Pats have a good chance as always, given they don't blow their third straight home playoff game. The Steelers and Jets will also be in the mix, but I'm predicting how the season is going to end a week before the regular season opener. Take it for what it is. In the NFL, anything can happen. That's why we all love it. I know I'll probably be wrong, but if I'm right, I get to brag about it forever like some kind of football prophet. It's worth the gamble.

Now, it's Friday night and my only day off until Tuesday. Here's a little Ludacris for ya. Have a good Friday night... it's a celebration, bitches.

Sorry 4 The Wait: Preseason Game 3

Hey everyone! Man, feels like ages since I've written anything. For that, I apologize to my two followers. You've surely been agonizing over my absence. I didn't get to write Saturday before last about our second preseason game, mainly because it was freshman move-in day at my college, so naturally I was out at the bars by 10 A.M. where it was certain that no freshmen would be. I also finally got a new job out at a golf course and worked Saturday, Sunday and Monday so I've been slacking a bit on my blogging responsibilities. Again, sincerest of apologies. HOWEVAH, I only had to work 'til 6 on Saturday so I totally got to see the whole game. I must say, I am more than slightly pleased by the progress the team has been making. Let's break it down a bit further....


Things I Liked:


Quarterback Play. -  Saturday's game was the closest we are going to get a regular season game. Joe Webb, while still struggling as a pocket passer, managed a 23 yard pass and a 44 yarder on the same drive (with help of a phenomenal catch by Manny Arceneux). He then capped off the drive with a 10 yard scramble. He also hit a big 36 yard scramble which looked a lot like a counter play if it were run out of the Wildcat formation. This man is dangerous as a runner and we need to find a place for him in our offense. CP7 didn't get many reps, but he got the ball with 62 seconds left in the game and no timeouts on the 19 yard line and got us about 60 yards down the field before time ran out on us. Gives me some optimism, though I still want to see more out of him in throws from the pocket. On our second pass play of the game, Donovan McNabb almost underthrew bombed a perfect pass to Bernard Berrian over the safety's outstretched arms to for a 49 yard TD.  I thought the interception he threw was poor judgement, and he also underthrew what looked like another potential Berrian touchdown. Overall, he finished 12/18 for 164 yards, 1TD and 1 INT. I think McNabb is really going to surprise a lot of people this season. He looks comfortable in our offense and is really getting all of our receivers involved, especially...

Bernard Berrian. - This part-time magician took a break from his 2-year long disappearing act to do a little route-running and ball-catching on Saturday, and I was glad to see him back. He still has the speed to get behind the defense as he showed on the 49-yard TD he caught on our first drive, and also had the corner beat on another long pass that was underthrown by Donny Mac. Our receiver play may have been helped by the fact that our starters were going up against the Cowboys' #3 and #4 CB's, but it's clear that Donovan McNabb has been trying to get BB back into the flow of our offense. He still is our best vertical threat in my opinion, as Percy is best in the slot. He could be the best slot receiver in the NFL very, very soon I think. No one has his speed and open field running ability. Speaking of running ability...

Adrian Peterson. - Yep, he's still the best RB in the game. We haven't gotten to see much of Purple Jesus so far this preseason, so 14 carries for 81 yards was a welcome sight for most Vikings fans. I'm not sure if any of us were worried about him losing a step, but just in case anyone was ... I think that debate is put to rest. What a beast. 'Nuff said. He did get a little help from ...

The O-Line. - These guys were opening up some big holes for AD to run through on Saturday, and that was real fun to watch. I was enjoying our 3 TE sets as well. That will be a nightmare for defenses to go up against. If anyone remembers the Packers back when Ahman Green was tearing up the turf, you might remember their formation with 2 TE and an extra OT that was a pitch play every time. And every time it gained like 10 yards. Well, with K-Sauce being basically a glorified OT with ball skills, I think we can have similar success. Herrera was back in the lineup and mugging people all over ( I LOVED seeing him pancake a guy about 2 seconds past the whistle), and Hutch had one beautiful pull to the outside that almost sprung AD if it weren't for an ankle tackle. Overall, great improvement since game 1.

Marcus Sherels. - What a story this guy is. He might be the biggest standout of the preseason for the Vikings, and if Asher Allen ends up on the streets he will have this man to thank for it. He had a great breakup on a slant in the second quarter, which isn't a sight most Vikings fans are used to. He is quick, aggressive, and clearly a hard worker. Very happy to see the former Gopher getting extended playing time.

Things I Didn't Like:


Special Teams. - Right as our first FG attempt was happening, I was just saying to the person next to me  how well our kicking game had been doing so far. Then Gerald Sensabaugh leapfrogged our line, helped block the kick, and some 50+ yards later Alan Ball was jogging into the end zone. We also missed a 52-yarder. Hopefully these were both aberrations and not something we see normally. The Sensabaugh play I will chalk up to perfect timing, so sucks for him that he made that play during the preseason, because it was nice. Cord Parks' return towards the end of the 1st half was a great one, good to see some young unknowns making noise when they get the opportunity.

Pass Coverage. - Tony Romo completed 75% of his passes in this game. That percentage is too high for a team that expects to win the game, unless we plan on the other 25% to be interceptions. Ced Griffin was getting abused by Dez Bryant for the majority of the post-interception drive, but his tackling was sure. Which is a silver lining, I guess. Keep in mind that Miles Austin didn't play in this game. Asher Allen didn't play, and that man is going to need to make an impression in game 4 if he plans on making this team. Chris Cook had a hamstring and 'Toine had that stinger that scared the bajeezus out of most of us, but he seemed to be alright. Our second team DB's weren't doing much either.

Dez Bryant. -  I just don't like him in this game because this man is a BEAST! I'll be the first to say that Dez is probably a certifiable tard, but man he looked dominant out there. I do not look forward to playing the Cowboys as long as Dez Bryant is on the field. He looks like a young T.O. out there. Put Miles Austin across from him with Jason Witten working the intermediate routes and the middle, that's a solid receiving core.



All in all, I was happy to drink the Vikings' Kool-Aid on Saturday. The team looks like it is coming together, especially on offense. Hopefully we can see our offensive line playing the way it did consistently. If we eliminate mistakes like getting field goals blocked, dropping passes on critical downs (Sorry, Percy) and giving up long third downs, we will be a team to worry about this season.
Glad to be back, thanks for reading! Sorry 4 The Wait!!

Preseason Game 1: Afterthoughts

Alright alright, so how about those Vikings? (Looks at box score, sees 248 total yards)
Alright, so maybe not. Let's be happy that we are 1/4 of the way finished with the preseason and that much closer to real football that matters. I understand the value of the preseason, and especially with a lockout-shortened offseason it is definitely needed, but man is it boring. The Vikings came up short in this matchup with the Titans by a final of 14-3, for those of you who haven't seen that anywhere else yet. These games really are not about who wins, obviously, but getting the team in rhythm and figuring out the depth chart. I saw some things that were impressive tonight and also some areas which are definitely in need of improvement, as well as some players that stood out for both good and reasons. If you want to see a summary, go here. I just want to talk about some of the positives and negatives of the performance.


Things I liked:


Erin Henderson. This guy seemed to be all over the field tonight. He ended up with 10 tackles, 7 solo and 2 for loss. The next most tackles tonight was 3. I don't think he played that much more than any of the other defensive players on first string, so 10 tackles in the box score is pretty beastly. He got in the backfield a couple times and made stops out on the perimeter as well. I look forward to seeing more of what he can do as one of our starting linebackers. Also, I think it is pretty awesome that we have brothers starting at linebacker for us.

Lorenzo Booker. Booker saw extended playing time tonight. He was out there for a good 2-3 quarters of action as our halfback, and I came away impressed. He lost a fumble on what was a very nice strip-recovery by Jurrell Casey, and if ball security continues to be an issue he probably will not be on this list many more times. For now, I'll chalk that mistake up to it being the first preseason game (which 3 other fumbles occured in) and a nice play being made on defense.  Outside of that, he was making the first tackler miss frequently, broke some good runs and overall looked very capable for a 3rd string back.

Donovan McNabb. He ended up 6-11 for 40 yards, but he started out 4 for 5 and had several good passes dropped afterward. It made me excited to see more from him. He looked in rhythm and accurate, and the fact that he can actually MOVE outside of the pocket is a welcome change from the past few years of old Vikings quarterbacks. Our offensive line was not looking so great in this first game and I think that if it continues to be a weakness, his mobility will be a huge asset. Christian Ponder also looked alright as well. I'd like to see him play behind a line that actually protects him, but he made some nice throws on the move and good mobility as well. He also made a couple throws that were not between the numbers, but didn't look like he shouldn't be on the field or anything.

Brandon Burton. The rookie cornerback out of Utah showed some promise in this first game. He broke up a couple passes, made one nice tackle at the line of scrimmage and was solid in coverage in his first NFL action. With the secondary being potentially the weakest part of this team, it's good to see a corner show some skills.


TE Depth. Looks like the Vikings have somewhat of an embarrassment of riches at the tight end position after this first game. Visanthe Shiancoe was scratched with a hamstring, but rookie Kyle Rudolph made a catch and had a good run afterward, Kleinsasser was himself, and though he dropped a big 4th down throw, Allen Reisner looked like a capable receiver as well.

Things I didn't like:


The offensive line play. The offensive line play in this game was for the most part, well, offensive. Christian Ponder was sacked 3 times in about a quarter and a half of play. There were 4 sacks total and 5 tackles for loss for the Titans and there were many other times that our quarterbacks were forced to scramble or throw while being hit. As I mentioned before, the mobility of our quarterbacks might be a very important asset to have if these problems persist. I also worry about the run game as Toby Gerhart doesn't seem to be able to gain yards unless a hole is opened for him. He doesn't seem very adept at making cuts.

Chris Cook. He got beat for a 45 yard touchdown pass pretty badly, and I saw him miss multiple tackles. For a guy whose strength was supposed to be his tackling, he was not showing much in this first game. He needs to step it up if the Vikings plan to keep him as the nickel corner.

Joe Webb. Yes, he did have a few good scrambles this evening, but as a passer he looked pretty bad. He completed 4 of 8 passes for 45 yards and an interception, and most of his yards were gained after the catch. The announcers got on him for running instead of throwing to a wide open Kyle Rudolph on a naked boot, which I agree he should've thrown. But overall, he just looked like a really athletic guy who is better off running than throwing. He had Devin Aromashodu (sic) open for a touchdown and threw a terrible ball also. I am hoping for Christian Ponder to supplant him as the 2nd stringer sooner than later after tonight. However, I wouldn't mind seeing him get used in some way. Webb is a freak athlete and we should find some way to utilize that.




Overall, tonight's game was just a tease. It left me wanting to see more. I liked the plays the offense was running and I think that our passing game will be better than most people are projecting it to be. I am worried about our offensive line though and hope they start to get it together because I think that games are won in the trenches. I am worried about our defense both against the run and the pass, but then again we didn't have our Jared Allen, Antoine Winfield or Kevin Williams playing tonight, which would probably have helped. I also thought Jake Locker looked quite good but struggled with his accuracy at times as well. Next game I will be looking forward to seeing more of Donovan McNabb running our offense, hoping to see Christian Ponder not running for his life half of the time and also for players like Chris Cook and the the guys on the O-Line to step their games up. So that's that. Enjoy.