October 17, 2011
Vikings stink up Soldier Field, losing 39-10 to the Bears
The difference between this loss and the earlier losses is that the Vikings were never in this game. Chicago jumped out to an early lead, and never looked back. The normally great first-half defence didn’t show up tonight, and the offence was its usual anaemic self.
The Vikings had done well to avoid injuries so far this season, but lost several players to injury over the course of the game, including safety Jamarca Sandford, offensive tackle Phil Loadholt, and centre John Sullivan. With two offensive line starters out, Donovan McNabb was running for his life back there.
On the good side of the ledger, after a quiet start, Jared Allen got a sack and stripped the ball from Jay Cutler. The Vikings turned that into 6 points on an Adrian Peterson run. Late in the game, Christian Ponder took over at quarterback for Donovan McNabb, and showed some nice situational awareness (avoiding the pass rush) and good accuracy and distance downfield. Other than that, there wasn’t much for Vikings fans to cheer.
After the game, coach Leslie Frazier was careful not to commit himself about who will start next Sunday’s game, but Andrew Kulha at Bleacher Reports is sure that we’ve seen the start of a new quarterback era:
It may be time for former Philadelphia Eagles star, former Washington Redskins mistake and current Minnesota Vikings quarterback Donovan McNabb to take his curtain call.
It’s been a great run for McNabb, but it’s probably best to stop digging while he still has a chance to get out of the hole that is the latter stages of his career.
Christopher Gates at the Daily Norseman agrees:
Statistically, if you look at Donovan McNabb’s line from Sunday night, it doesn’t look like he played all that badly. . .he only threw five incompletions on the evening, and put up 177 passing yards. However, as the fourth quarter started at Soldier Field on Sunday evening, Minnesota Vikings’ head coach Leslie Frazier decided that the time had finally come.
And, with that, the Christian Ponder era got underway in Minnesota.
Sure, by the time that Ponder got into the game, the Vikings only had five healthy offensive lineman. . .Phil Loadholt was out of the game with an (as of now) undisclosed injury, and John Sullivan suffered a concussion early in the second half. As the Vikings only had seven offensive linemen dressed on the evening, another injury probably would have seen Jim Kleinsasser lining up at tackle or guard. However, despite that, and despite spending most of the evening running for his life, Ponder was not sacked once in 18 pass attempts, and completed 10 of his passes for 99 yards in his quarter of work.
Update: Tom Pelissero sums up the brief (about a quarter) appearance of Christian Ponder:
Ponder made his NFL debut with 14 minutes, 43 seconds remaining in Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, who led 39-10 and sacked starter Donovan McNabb five times.
“I don’t see it ending like this, as you say,” McNabb said. “But it’s tough. You’re one-and-five at this particular point. I felt like we did a lot of great things (Sunday). But I guess we’ll sit down to talk, but I still expect to be in there next week.”
Ponder was 9-of-17 passing for 99 yards (52.9%) and a 70.5 rating over two drives, both ending with fourth-down passes caught short of the first-down marker. But the rookie first-round picks’s skills were on display as he repeatedly escaped pressure and made several rhythm throws into tight windows.
He scrambled for 8 yards and a first down on his second snap. His first throw was a swing pass to Adrian Peterson for no gain and his second a touch pass to Percy Harvin for 20.
“I thought he did a good job under the circumstances,” Frazier said. “We’ll go back and look at the tape and fully evaluate it. But it seems like he moved around pretty good.”
Ponder was 5-of-10 passing for 58 yards on his first drive, which went 69 yards in 12 plays before a fourth-and-10 throw to Visanthe Shiancoe gained only 9, stalling the Vikings at the Chicago 12-yard line. The Vikings’ next drive went 40 yards in eight plays before stalling at the Chicago 30.
“I was very grateful for the opportunity that Coach let me go in,” Ponder said. “I thought I made some plays, thought I missed some plays, missed a couple throws. But I definitely had fun. It’s always hard to have fun when you’re losing that bad, but I was grateful and I definitely had fun.”
Update, the second: In his column at the Pioneer Press, Tom Powers suggests it’s time for a fire sale:
Vikings for sale! Vikings for sale! Cheap!
Not the team, but individual players. Hey, all you NFL general managers out there, get your very own Minnesota Vikings player. Take him home to play with your kids. Let him tend to the petunias in the garden. Have him wash the car. All we ask for is a seventh-round draft pick in return. And, of course, you take over paying his salary.
The NFL trade deadline almost always passes unnoticed. It’s not a big deal the way it is in other sports where there is a flurry of last-minute activity. The Vikings desperately need to change all that.
The 2011 deadline is Tuesday. It should be a very big deal. There ought to be balloons, parades and free hot dogs at Winter Park if Rick Spielman, the Vikings’ Invisible Man, can partially salvage a lost season by dumping veterans for draft picks. Even very low draft picks would be swell. So would a bag of Doritos.
June 11, 2011
Redefining “high speed” as 45 mph
This is very amusing, unless you’re a taxpayer:
The latest in lunacy in high-speed rail lunacy: at Joel Kotkin’s newgeography.com Wendell Cox reports that the U.S. Transportation Department is dangling money before the government of Iowa seeking matching funds from the state for a high-speed rail line from Iowa City to Chicago. The “high-speed” trains would average 45 miles per hour and take five hours to reach Chicago from Iowa City. One might wonder how big the market for this service is, since Iowa City and Johnson County have only 130,882 people; add in adjoining Linn County (Cedar Rapids) and you’re only up to 342,108 — not really enough, one would think, to supply enough riders to cover operating costs much less construction costs.
The federal government must be getting desperate to find some state willing to take this deal . . .
December 21, 2010
Bears beat Vikings to claim NFC North division title
The last time the Vikings gave up this many points was a previous game against the Bears, but at least that one was close (48-41 in 2008). This game wasn’t close at all:
Vikings executives spent last week working diligently to make sure Monday night’s game was played in front of their home fans in part because it was meant to serve as a celebration of the franchise’s 50th season in Minnesota.
That was their first mistake.
Given the team’s performance in its 40-14, five-turnover loss to Chicago at TCF Bank Stadium, those execs might have done their fans a greater service by having shifted this game as far away from snowy Minnesota as possible. That way, many in the announced crowd of 40,504 wouldn’t have had to witness a second consecutive listless performance from a team that might have played in the elements but mentally appeared to be in Maui.
The game was supposed to be rookie Joe Webb’s first NFL start, but mirabile dictu the status for Brett Favre was upgraded from “out” to “questionable”, and he somehow managed to get healthy enough to start. It didn’t last too long, though:
Favre’s NFL record consecutive-starts streak had ended at 321 the previous Monday against the Giants because of an injury to his throwing arm and at that point it appeared his career might be finished. But Favre, who has said numerous times this will be his final season, wanted to give playing another shot.
It proved to be a poor idea.
Favre was left lying motionless on the field after taking a crushing hit from defensive end Corey Wootton in the second quarter. He suffered a concussion and was replaced by rookie Joe Webb, who had been scheduled to start in the first place.
Photo from Viking Update.Webb completed 15 of 26 passes for 129 yards with two interceptions and a 38.8 passer rating and also scrambled six times for 38 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown. But it mattered little against a team that completed a season sweep of the Vikings.
Jim Souhan sent a couple of Twitter updates during the fourth quarter saying that fans were pelting the Vikings bench with snowballs. The quarterbacks were throwing them back, but the Bears players kept intercepting them.
December 17, 2010
Like everyone else, the Two Scotts go for Chicago to win
They’re both so positive, I don’t think they’d change their minds even if Scarlett Johansson was playing quarterback:
Chicago (minus 3) at Minnesota, Monday night
Reid: After 297 consecutive starts, Brett Favre stood on the sideline last week for the first time since 1992. Tarvaris Jackson, a bit more modestly, will see his most recent streak end at exactly…one game. He’ll be back on the sideline for the first time since December 5th. Who will start? Creaky old Favre? Third string quarterback Joe Webb (of Dragnet fame) would be an interesting choice. He’s played a total of one series in the NFL but, on the upside, he is able to operate his body. Did we mention this game will be played outside at the University of Minnesota? Pick: Chicago.
Feschuk: Quite a debut for Tarvaris Jackson last week. I really admired how he would drop back in the pocket, look left, look right, look terrified and then scamper about the backfield in manic slapstick desperation. Had the Giants been dressed as British bobbies, Jackson would have been immediately sued for copyright infringement by the estate of Benny Hill. Pick: Chicago.
December 15, 2010
This should help cure nostalgia for Metropolitan Stadium
The Minnesota Vikings won’t be able to play their last home game at the Metrodome, so the game will be hosted at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota:
Unlike yesterday’s trek to Detroit for an indoor contest against the New York Giants, this game will not only be outdoors but also at a facility that has roughly 13,000 fewer seats than the Metrodome. Both facts will provide unique challenges.
This is the first outdoor home game for the Vikings in 29 years. And TCF Bank Stadium has been completely shut down and “winterized” for the season, prompting one University of Minnesota official to describe the upcoming preparation of the stadium as a “monumental task.”
In addition, some of the aforementioned ticket holders to this game against the Bears will not be able to attend because of the shortage of seats.
On a positive note — and perhaps the biggest reason the game is committed to being played locally — is so the Minnesota Vikings organization can celebrate 50 seasons of Vikings football on a special celebratory evening.
Today’s Vikings fans are probably not as hardy as their parents and grandparents . . . unless the weather is particularly mild next Monday, expect a big uptick of support for a new domed stadium to replace the Metrodome.
November 15, 2010
Vikings’ playoff hopes all but gone
Yesterday’s game against the Chicago Bears was a must-win . . . and they put in a terrible performance:
BRETT FAVRE: The battered quarterback had a depleted receiving corps to which he threw for a paltry 170 yards, with three interceptions and a fumble — giving Favre an eye-popping 21 turnovers this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Allowed dashing returner Devin Hester to break tackles and wreak havoc on the coverage units, producing returns of 68 and 42 yards. After converting nine consecutive field goals, Ryan Longwell missed for the first time this season, clanking a 39-yard attempt off the left upright in the second quarter that would have given Minnesota a six-point lead.
RUN DEFENSE: The once-vaunted unit that went 36 games without yielding 100 yards rushing has allowed four teams to crack the century mark, including Chicago, which ran up 130 yards on the ground.
Not appearing in this game were Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian. Injured during the game was Percy Harvin, meaning the top three receivers were off the field during the last portion of the game.
Next week’s game against the Green Bay Packers may not matter, even if the Vikings can manage to win . . . they’ll need to win all of their remaining games to even hope for a wildcard spot.
November 13, 2010
Sidney Rice to play tomorrow against Chicago Bears
According to Bleacher Report, Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice will play in tomorrow’s game against Chicago:
Sidney declined hip surgery this offseason, despite several doctors strongly recommending he undergo the procedure. As it turns out, this was a foolish decision on Rice’s part.
Had he undergone the surgery in April, Rice would have been fully healthy when Week 1 rolled around against the New Orleans Saints.
With that said, the past cannot be changed, but it’s a wonder as to how much better the Vikings would be if they had Favre’s favorite target on the field.
Had Rice been playing on a weekly basis, Minnesota would’ve never made the acquisition to bring Randy Moss back to the team who drafted him in 1998.
Minnesota also would still have their third-round-pick in 2011.
While I can’t blame him for not wanting to undergo a surgical procedure if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, the decision certainly had deep repercussions for his team. It’s not Rice’s fault that all this happened — there’s no guarantee that the team’s record would have been any better if he’d been on the field from the start — but it’s indisputable that him not being available had a domino effect.
Update, 14 November: No, the Vikings didn’t place Rice on their active roster, so he won’t play in today’s game.
November 12, 2010
The Two Scotts both like Minnesota over Chicago
After suddenly liking the Vikings’ chances last week, they both like their chances this week:
Feschuk: Okay, sports media, we get it: The Minnesota players don’t like Brad Childress. I believe we now have approximately 7,000 anonymous sources confirming this fact. Tell Morley Safer to climb on out of the Vikings’ locker-room laundry hamper with his Whisper 2000 — he’s been scooped. Let’s now move forward and focus on more salient issues such as whether Jay Cutler will prioritize his interceptions to members of the Vikings secondary based on height or alphabetical order. Pick: Minnesota.
Reid: I feel certain the Vikes will go on a wild winning streak now that it means Childress keeps his job. This reflects the “Get What I Don’t Want” principle that condemns the U.S. economy and every woman I’ve ever dated. Jay Cutler threw no interceptions against Buffalo last week. That means he’s got twice the quota to fill this week. These statistics don’t just look after themselves, you know. Pick: Minnesota.
December 29, 2009
Vikings fumble away chance for a first-round bye
If all you watched of last night’s game was the second half, you’d think the Vikings were unstoppable. Unfortunately, there was the first half and then the overtime period which showed Minnesota in their more traditional guise (for the last few games anyway). The first half was the worst 30 minutes of football the team has played all season. In overtime, Adrian Peterson’s fumbling issues came back with a vengeance.
At the end of the first half, the Bears were up by 16 points, and the Vikings were lucky the margin wasn’t worse. The offensive line was again unable to open lanes for the running game and Brett Favre was under steady pressure, throwing for only 36 yards up to halftime.
Minnesota’s special teams looked like a throwback to last year’s line-up, giving up two long returns, setting up Chicago with a short field. A bad hold on an extra point allowed Chicago to deflect the ball away from the uprights. That point might have been useful at the end of the game. Chicago felt comfortable enough with their kick coverage team to allow Percy Harvin a chance to receive the kickoffs. None of Harvin’s six returns were as long as his season average (his best was 27 yards, but his season average was over 28). Even Harvin can’t run where there are no running lanes.
The beat writers at the Minneapolis Star Tribune both picked Chicago to win this game. Here’s Judd Zulgad:
I know a few of you thought Chip and I were crazy for picking the Chicago Bears to beat the Vikings on Monday night. My reasoning for the pick was based on the fact that not only had the Vikings put on awful performances in their recent prime-time losses at Arizona and Carolina but this also seemed to me to be a team that had lost its confidence.
Even as the Vikings rallied from a 17-point deficit against the Bears on Monday to force overtime — they eventually lost 36-30 — I never had the definite feeling that the Vikings were going to pull this one out. That, of course, should have been the feeling. The Vikings appeared to be a superior team to the Bears on Nov. 29 when they crushed them 36-10 at the Metrodome and considering Chicago was 5-9 entering Monday it appeared the Bears had little reason for which to play.
The Vikings (11-4) had every reason to play hard and try to put away the Bears early based on the fact that Minnesota was still alive in the race for the top seed in the NFC — the Saints have now clinched that spot — and are fighting for at least the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. But the Vikings came out flat and as a result right now the Eagles own the second seed because they have the tie-breaker over the Vikings.
And here’s Mark Craig:
One more thought: In trying to decide who is better, the A, Vikings or B, Saints, I’ve decided my answer is:
C, The Eagles.
November 29, 2009
Vikings beat Bears 36-10
For a game I was worried about, it sure didn’t support my anxieties, with Minnesota rolling to a decisive victory at home. Brett Favre was a bare 11 yards short of a career record passing game (he did tie the all-time record for games started by non-kicker/non-punter with former Viking Jim “Iron Man” Marshall at 282):
Favre passed for a season-high 392 yards and three touchdowns, and the Vikings intercepted Cutler twice in a 36-10 victory over the Bears on Sunday.
Favre went 32 for 48 without a turnover and was 10 yards off his career best, throwing touchdowns to Visanthe Shiancoe, Chester Taylor and Percy Harvin, the unflappable rookie who had his best game yet.
The Vikings (10-1) outgained the Bears by a whopping 537 yards to 169 and breezed to their fifth straight win, despite two more fumbles and a pedestrian 85 yards on 25 carries by Adrian Peterson.
His short, late touchdown run put Minnesota over 32 points for the sixth time this season. The Vikings had 31 first downs, the Bears just eight.
Cutler was precise in the short passing game and effective in the no-huddle, keeping the Bears (4-7) in it until late in the second quarter. He was picked off by a diving Cedric Griffin in the end zone. Then on the next possession, E.J. Henderson got his hand on a ball over the middle that Jared Allen jumped up and caught with 57 seconds left in the half.
Adrian Peterson’s fumbles continue to be a concern for the Vikings, although only one of the two in this game caused problems. A player with a reputation for fumbling attracts all kinds of extra attention, and especially for Peterson, who often refuses to go to ground, attempting to gain extra yards after being stopped.
Jared Allen had two sacks and several hurries, while Benny Sapp and Karl Paymah substituted for injured cornerback Antoine Winfield.
October 29, 2009
There are many ways to destroy a neighbourhood
Chicago is contemplating one of the more effective ones:
Breaking down communities by creating incentives for friends and neighbors to betray one another is a much more effective tool in developed nations with less salient cultural cleavages a ruler can exploit. Creating distrust in society increases the public’s demand for government and reduces our ability to create (market and non-market) voluntary institutions to compete with government. If we think our neighbors are out to get us, we’re less likely to want to deal with them on a voluntary basis and more likely to demand they be controlled by government. Destroying community is good for government.
The Chicago city government seems to have realized this. It is considering a “Tax Whistleblower Program” which would pay people to rat on “tax cheats.” Grassers will most likely be paid a percentage of back taxes collected. The city officials are claiming that it’s “just another way of bringing people into compliance.” No doubt it will be an effective one too, since community can be a fragile thing.
All it takes is one neighbourhood busybody being financially rewarded for squealing on the guy down the street. Everything tends to snowball as trust evaporates and everyone starts to view their neighbours as potential threats.
