Tom Pelissero of ESPN1500.com reports after yesterday’s game in Kansas City.
October 3, 2011
October 2, 2011
Vikings finally break habit of stinking in 2nd half by stinking equally in both
After showing some excellent results in the first half of each of the first three games of the season, then mentally checking out for the second half, Minnesota finally broke the habit. Unfortunately, they broke the good habit, not the bad one, falling to the 0-3 Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 22-17.
One thing most seem to agree on is that even if he’s not the worst problem, Donovan McNabb has failed to live up to expectations. He’s been throwing the ball erratically and off-target (one Twitter comment jibed that he’s the perfect QB if receivers could catch with their feet). He was brought in on a one-year contract to take care of the team until Christian Ponder was ready to take over. “Taking care” of the team isn’t quite what you’d describe what he’s done in the last four games.
The argument is that it can be very bad to throw a rookie quarterback in before he’s ready to take over: some thrive, but many sink (taking their teams with them). The counter argument is simple: we’ve already taken four torpedoes, so why not give the keys to Ponder? If we continue to lose, we’ll be early favourites for the first pick in the draft next year (the “Suck for Luck” pick).
Here’s the immediate reaction to the game from various folks in the Vikings fan base and in the media:
- Clint Starks, Viking Age: “With the Vikes moving to 0-4 and McNabb playing at what looks to be an all-time low the question moves to Ponder. Fans across Viking Nation are wondering when we were see the cocksure rookie from Florida State. Next week could present a good opportunity for the young rookie as the Arizona Cardinals are coming to Mall of America field.”
- Eric J. Thompson, Daily Norseman: “For the fourth straight week, the Vikings have wrestled defeat away from the jaws of victory. It was more of the same for the hapless Vikes, coming up small against the Chiefs at the most inopportune times. Donovan McNabb missed passes with alarming consistency. Adrian Peterson was largely ignored in the second half game plan. The tired and inept secondary got burned. The pass rush disappeared.”
- Tom Pelissero, ESPN1500.com: “Leslie Frazier said the Minnesota Vikings must “reevaluate everything” in the wake of their fourth consecutive loss on Sunday.
- Ray Tannock, BleacherReport.com: “Without giving away too much, some of the rising whispers in Minnesota have been for the possible sacking of quarterback Donovan McNabb in favor of the anticipated “quarterback of the future” Christian Ponder.
“That apparently won’t include giving consideration to replacing starting quarterback Donovan McNabb with rookie first-round draft pick Christian Ponder beginning next week against Arizona.”
“Another comment that has passed in the wind over the weeks is whether or not this set of coordinators even know what they are doing.
“Defensive coordinator Fred Pagac’s inability to adjust to the opposition and Offensive coordinator’ Bill Musgrave’s inability to get the right players on the field and involved, have been a growing concern in the minds of Vikings fans; concerns that haven’t had much resolution through three games.”
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The greatest 0-3 team ever?
Christopher Gates at the Daily Norseman summarizes an argument from a behind-the-paywall ESPN Insider article:
First off, according to the article, only six teams in NFL history have had the same sort of dominance in the first halves of football games that the 2011 Minnesota Vikings have shown (scoring more than 50 points while allowing 7 or fewer). The Vikings have outscored their opponents 54-7 in the first half this year. Here are the other teams that fall into that same category.
Team Year Points For Points Against Seattle Seahawks 2006 55 6 Dallas Cowboys 1973 53 6 Los Angeles Rams 1970 63 6 San Diego Chargers 1961 73 3 Cleveland Browns 1947 75 7 Cleveland Browns 1946 55 0 One minor difference between the 2011 Vikings and those other six teams . . . the six teams listed above all went 3-0. Minnesota has managed to go 0-3.
ESPN even managed to put a number on the odds of the Vikings’ losing all three of their games in the fashion that they have. With win probabilities at halftime ranging from 84.9% in the game against the Chargers to 97.1% in last week’s game against Detroit, ESPN put the odds of the Vikings losing their first three games with the halftime leads they had at 3,800-to-1. To put it another way, if you could have placed an actual bet of $50 on such a thing occurring, you would have walked away with a cool $190,000.
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September 26, 2011
Vikings blow big halftime lead: this is not a repeat of the last two weeks
Oh, wait. No, it actually is a repeat of the last two weeks. This time the team had a 20-point lead to fritter away, and the Detroit Lions had to go to overtime to win.
Christopher Gates sums it up nicely:
The Vikings took a team that had been averaging 37.5 points per game over the first two weeks of the year and won by 45 points the week before, and held them off of the scoreboard in the first half. In the first thirty minutes of play, they held that offense to 50 total yards.
And then, in the second half, it all happened again. . .Stafford tore apart a soft zone again. Adrian Peterson got hardly any touches in the second half again. Percy Harvin, like many of us, spent a great deal of the second half throwing up. Donovan McNabb did very little in the second half.
Jim Souhan renews his call from yesterday to bench Donovan McNabb and give Christian Ponder his first NFL start:
This is what a football apocalypse looks like: Fans jeering, players screaming on the sideline, coaches making irrational decisions, players committing destructive penalties, and a proud group of veterans collapsing in the second half for the third consecutive week while their owners beg for a new stadium.
The meaningful portion of the Vikings’ 2011 schedule concluded on Sept. 25 at the Metrodome, as they blew a 20-point halftime lead and lost in overtime, falling to 0-3. Only three teams since 1990 have made the playoffs after starting 0-3, and none of them was outscored 67-6 after halftime in their first three games, as the Vikings have been.
[. . .]
So it’s time for the Vikings to start thinking of “Ponder” as a noun, not a verb.
The decision to sign veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb made sense. If he played well, he could guide an ambitious team into the playoffs. If he didn’t, he could buy time for rookie quarterback Christian Ponder to develop.
Having failed at the former, McNabb has already accomplished the latter. Ponder has had a full training camp and three game weeks to learn the Vikings offense.
[. . .]
McNabb is not solely responsible for the Vikings’ woes, but he is the only member of the organization whose demotion could prove beneficial. You can’t fire a head coach or coordinator three games into their tenures, and changing left tackles has never inspired a team or changed the direction of a franchise.
The Vikings will play at Kansas City on Sunday. Giving Ponder his first NFL start there would make sense. The Chiefs are 0-3, and Ponder, having played at Florida State, may think that all of the Indian symbolism was put in place to welcome him.
Eric J. Thompson tries to put it in perspective:
Yep folks, that’s what the 2011 season has come to already. Bad attempts at humor to deflect pain from the worst 0-3 start imaginable. And when I say “imaginable”, I mean it — because you couldn’t make this sh*t up. Seriously: outscoring your opponents 54-7 in the first half only to be outscored 67-6 after halftime?! And all of that incredible ineptitude without committing a single second half turnover? You couldn’t even lose like that on purpose if you were playing Madden. We’d all be amazed if we weren’t all so damn depressed.
But fear not, fellow Vikings fans. I’m giving you an out. I’m saying right here and now, before the calendar even turns to October, that it’s OK to emotionally check out from expecting anything for the 2011 season.
Now before you jump all over me in the comments section calling me a sell out or a fair weather bandwagon jumper, let me explain. I’m still going to watch all 13 Vikings games that remain on the 2011 schedule, and I’m still going to vehemently root for them every step of the way. I’ll still be extremely pissed when they lose and I’ll still be overjoyed when they win. It’s in my DNA, whether I like it or not. But I am officially done believing that this season will result in anything else but watching other NFC North team(s) in the playoffs after Week 17 is completed. It’s awful to admit, but them’s the facts, folks.
September 25, 2011
Jim Souhan makes a subtle case for starting Christian Ponder
At least, that’s the way most Minnesota fans are going to read this little history lesson:
For those considering the Vikings a playoff contender, this week represents a severe test of Frazier’s abilities. For those with a more realistic view of this team, these losses could have been predicted. Even coaching legends lose early in their tenures.
Bill Belichick went 6-10 his first year, didn’t post a winning record until his fourth season, and didn’t win a Super Bowl title until his seventh, and then only after Tom Brady replaced injured Drew Bledsoe.
Tom Landry went 0-11-1 his first season and didn’t post a winning record until his seventh season. Chuck Noll went 1-13 his first season and didn’t post a winning record until his fourth season. Bill Walsh went 2-14 his first season, Jimmy Johnson 1-15.
Vikings history, too, suggests that becoming a head coach requires a learning curve. Norm Van Brocklin went 3-11 his first year. Bud Grant was 3-8-3. Les Steckel went 3-13, then Grant returned to go 7-9.
Mike Tice lost his first five games; Brad Childress went 6-10 his first season. Only Jerry Burns and Denny Green made immediate inroads. Burns went 9-7 in 1986 and didn’t suffer a losing record until 1990. Green assembled one of the best coaching staffs in recent NFL history — including Monte Kiffin, Tom Moore, Willie Shaw, Tyrone Willingham, John Michels, John Teerlinck and Tony Dungy — and went 11-5 after replacing Burns.
[. . .]
All those NFL coaching legends have two things in common: They lost early, and they looked much smarter after a young, future Hall of Famer started taking snaps.
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September 22, 2011
Detroit Lions favoured over the Vikings this Sunday
It’s actually a rare thing for Detroit to be the favourite when playing the Vikings at home. It hasn’t happened for quite some time. In fact, the last time they were the favourites was in week three . . . of the 1981 season.
Usually, when Minnesota sees Detroit coming up on the schedule, they can mark a win for that week. That is no longer true: Detroit has been improving at about the same rate that the Vikings have been disintegrating. They beat Tampa Bay at home in the season opener, then hung a vicious 48-3 beating on the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend. They’re coming in at 2-0, while the Vikings are 0-2 having blown halftime leads in both games so far this season.
Judd Zulgad, now with ESPN1500.com, thinks that a Vikings loss this week means the team will have to accept that they’re in rebuilding mode — that the current team is on the downward slide and no quick fixes are available.
It’s going to be very hard for Frazier to reverse course now and tell anyone that it’s time to look to the future. He already convinced his players that he is all in and it’s very difficult (almost unfair) to ask any coach to give up on a season.
That means Spielman would be the logical candidate to be the bad guy and set in motion a rebuilding process that could land a top-five draft pick. Spielman doesn’t have the general manager title but he is the guy that must take the long-term view of what’s best for this franchise.
A loss to the Lions means the Vikings must begin thinking about when first-round pick Christian Ponder will be ready to replace Donovan McNabb at quarterback and when other personnel changes might make the most sense.
The Ponder for McNabb swap is the obvious one — and should only be done when there is a belief that Ponder is ready to take over — but there are other veterans who could be replaced in 2011 with an eye on making sure a younger player is ready to go in 2012.
[. . .]
It also would become important to begin plucking talent off the waiver wire each week, meaning a once valuable veteran might have to be shown the door. This approach would mean sacrificing a few potential and meaningless victories in the name of upgrading the roster for the future.
None of this would be pleasant for Frazier or anyone else associated with the Vikings franchise in the short term, but in the long run it likely would be the quickest and most efficient way to get back on track.
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September 19, 2011
Vikings blow 17-point halftime lead, lose to Bucs
For the second week in a row, the Minnesota Vikings had the lead at halftime, then went on vacation for the second half of the game. Unlike last week, the Vikings lead after 30 minutes due primarily to their own efforts, with a strong running game and a passing game that gained more than 39 yards (last week’s total). It just wasn’t enough of a cushion to allow the team to check out for the second 30 minutes of play.
The Vikings blew a 10-point lead at San Diego, losing 24-17 in Week 1. But as bad as that was, the sequel was much worse considering the level to which the Vikings were dominating the league’s youngest team at home at halftime.
The Vikings led in total yards, 284-62; first downs, 17-3; rushing yards, 137-23; and, well, everything else.
“I’ve been playing a long time,” receiver Michael Jenkins said. “Eight years now, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game that different from one half to the next half.”
Obviously, a pattern has been established: The Vikings are a 30-minute team in a 60-minute league. And they trail the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions by two games in the NFC North heading into Sunday’s home game against a Lions team that has won six consecutive games and is coming off a 48-3 victory over Kansas City.
The Vikings haven’t just begun the 2011 with two losses, they’ve blown two games with poisonous second-half performances that call into question the ability of their coaches to adapt during games, their offensive philosophy, their choice of veteran quarterbacks and their ability to fulfill the lofty expectations of ownership.
Since 1990, only 12.5 percent of NFL teams that have lost their first two games of the season have made the playoffs, and we can probably make a leap of logic and guess that an even smaller percentage made the playoffs after getting outscored 41-3 in the first two second halves of the year.
The Vikings have begun a season in which they proclaimed themselves contenders and during which they are seeking approval for a billion-dollar stadium by treating the second half the way your average downtown office worker treats Friday afternoon. They’ve taken off early.
The Christian Ponder era gets closer with each loss, but for Ponder’s sake, I hope he doesn’t need to step in this soon in his rookie season.
During the first half, Adrian Peterson went into the record books again, as he scored the first of two rushing touchdowns, moving him into first place in team history for rushing TDs.
Update: As Christopher Gates reminds us, the Vikings have to make a roster move this week to make room for Kevin Williams, who is returning after his two-week suspension in the StarCaps case. Who does he want to see get cut to clear space?
The first one would be Bernard Berrian. I said this last week, and I’ll say it again . . . this guy never should have been on the roster coming out of camp. He’s a speed receiver with no speed, and shows absolutely no will or desire when the ball is coming his way. In two games this season, he has one more reception than I do. [. . .] Or, if you’re going to cut a defensive player, look no further than Tyrell Johnson. Jamarca Sanford has clearly outplayed Johnson this season at the safety spot opposite of Husain Abdullah, and Johnson’s missed interception that could have, potentially, sealed the deal for the Vikings this afternoon is basically the last straw for me. If we’re going to try to work some young guys into the lineup this season, get Johnson the heck out of town and give Mistral Raymond some run in his place.
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September 12, 2011
Vikings drop season opener to Chargers, 24-17
Aside from an electrifying start, as Percy Harvin ran the opening kickoff all the way back for a TD, this game was forgettable for both teams.
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September 5, 2011
Vikings sign players to practice squad
The team roster has solidified a bit from the initial release yesterday, as they claimed linebacker Xavier Adibi off the waiver wire from Houston, and cut tight end Allen Reisner to make a roster spot for him.
| Position | Starter(s) | Backups | Practice Squad | Injured Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB (3) | McNabb | Ponder, Webb | ||
| WR (5) | Berrian, Harvin, Jenkins | Camarillo, Aromashodu | Arceneaux, S. Burton | |
| RB (3) | Peterson | Gerhart, Booker | King | |
| FB (0) | Asiata, D’Imperio | |||
| TE (3) | Shiancoe, Rudolph | Kleinsasser, |
Reisner | |
| OL (10) | Loadholt (RT), Hutchinson (LG), Sullivan (C), Herrera (RG), C. Johnson (LT) | Cooper, Love, Fusco, Brown, Olsen | DeGeare | Kooistra |
| DL (9/10) | Robison (LE), Williams (UT)2, Ayodele (NT), J. Allen (RE) | Griffen, Ballard, Awasom, Guion, Reed, Evans | McKinley | |
| LB (6) | Greenway (S), E.J. Henderson (M), E. Henderson (W) | Onatolu, Dean, Adibi | ||
| CB (6) | Winfield, Griffin | C. Cook, Sherels, A. Allen, B. Burton | ||
| S (5) | Abdullah, Sanford | T. Johnson, Frampton, Raymond | Brinkley | |
| K (1) | Longwell | |||
| P (1) | Kluwe | |||
| LS (1) | Loeffler | |||
| KR | Harvin* | Booker* | ||
| PR | Sherels* | Camarillo* |
Players who have been waived are marked like this, and newly signed players are marked like this.
Notes:
1. Allen Reisner was cut to make room for signing linebacker Xavier Adibi. The team hoped to sign him to the practice squad if he cleared waivers on Monday night.
2. Kevin Williams has been suspended for the first two games of the season, and fined another two game cheques. He won’t count against the roster limit until the third game.
Update, 6 September: The team announced that Christian Ponder will be the backup quarterback (Joe Webb will run the scout team), Jamarca Sanford will be the starting safety over Tyrell Johnson, and Allen Reisner cleared waivers and has been signed to the practice squad.
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September 4, 2011
Vikings cut down to 53-man roster
All NFL teams had to reduce their rosters to 53 players by 5:00 Saturday evening, but can’t sign players to their practice squads for a period afterward — as some teams are forced to cut quality players, the “final” roster is subject to a certain amount of churning. As a result the following summary is still only “mostly” final.
| Position | Starter(s) | Backups | Practice Squad | Injured Reserve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB (3) | McNabb | Ponder, Webb | ||
| WR (5) | Berrian, Harvin, Jenkins | Camarillo (?), |
||
| RB (3) | Peterson | Gerhart, Booker | ||
| FB (0) | ||||
| TE (4) | Shiancoe, Rudolph | Kleinsasser, |
||
| OL (10) | Loadholt (RT), Hutchinson (LG), Sullivan (C), Herrera (RG), C. Johnson (LT) | |||
| DL (9/10) | Robison (LE), Williams (UT)4, Ayodele (NT), J. Allen (RE) | Griffen, Ballard, Awasom, Guion, Reed, Evans5 | ||
| LB (5) | Greenway (S), E.J. Henderson (M), E. Henderson (W) | |||
| CB (6) | Winfield, Griffin | C. Cook, Sherels, A. Allen (?), |
||
| S (5) | T. Johnson, Abdullah | Sanford, Frampton, Raymond7 | Brinkley8 | |
| K (1) | Longwell | |||
| P (1) | Kluwe | |||
| LS (1) | Loeffler | |||
| KR | ||||
| PR | Booker* |
Players who have been waived are marked like this, while players who I didn’t predict making the team’s roster are marked in green. I’d marked Ryan D’Imperio and Asher Allen with question marks in my original post, as I wasn’t sure either one of them would make the team and didn’t know if they could be signed to the practice squad.
Notes:
1. I’d assumed that Reisner would be cut, but projected to signing on the practice squad. Cutting Dugan created a slot for him.
2. I listed aboth Brown and Fusco as practice squad candidates. Rather surprised to see Fusco made the team, based on the reporting about him.
3. Seth Olsen wasn’t even on my list of practice squad candidates. He must have been doing good work away from the reporters, as I’d barely heard his name until now.
4. Kevin Williams has been suspended for the first two games of the season, and fined another two game cheques. He won’t count against the roster limit until the third game.
5. Fred Evans was a veteran I didn’t expect to see back on the full roster. I was clearly mistaken.
6. I’d originally predicted that CB Brandon Burton would be signed to the practice squad, but Jeremy Fowler noted that he’d made the regular roster.
7. Mistral Raymond made enough moves to join the regular season roster (I projected him as a practice squad player).
8. Jasper Brinkley moved to Injured Reserve: his season is over, and he won’t count against the roster.
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September 3, 2011
Do celebrities get better treatment from the police?
It was interesting to read in this story about the wife of former Viking tight end Joe Senser, that the police waited for a warrant before searching the vehicle, even though the family had given permission:
Phanthavong, 38, was killed as he was putting gas in his car after it ran out of fuel on the ramp leading from westbound Interstate 94 to Riverside Avenue about 11 p.m. He was head cook at True Thai, a restaurant on nearby Franklin Avenue.
He was hit directly by Senser’s vehicle and propelled into the air, Schwebel said. Blood was found on the parts of the Mercedes left at the scene, according to a search warrant.
Investigators received a call at 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 24 from Nelson indicating he was calling on behalf of the registered owner of the suspected vehicle and the owner’s family.
At their Edina home, the Sensers gave investigators the keys to their 2009 Mercedes ML350 and it was towed to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office crime lab.
The family gave investigators permission to search the vehicle, but authorities waited until they obtained a search warrant, Nelson said.
August 29, 2011
Vikings release ten players in first cut-down
All NFL teams have to cut their training camp rosters to 80 players by tomorrow, and to 53 players by Sunday. Most of the players waived in the first cut-down are third- and fourth-string players, but the players who survive the first cut will have one last chance to impress the coaches in the final preseason game. Today the Minnesota Vikings cut the following players:
- S Chris Adingupu
- G Conan Amituanai
- TE Ed Barham
- QB Rhett Bomar
- S Simeon Castille
- LB Jonathan Gilmore
- WR Andre Holmes
- LB Kyle O’Donnell
- K Nate Whitaker
- DT Colby Whitlock
There were no real surprises in this list, as Bomar was not given any playing time in the first three preseason games, indicating that the Vikings were not likely to retain him. Whitaker was mentioned as a possible “project” player for long-term development, but that was rendered unlikely with Longwell signing a multi-year deal.
NFL teams have to cut down to their 53 player regular season rosters in early September. Here’s my guesses about who makes the team as starters, who are the backups, and who the team is likely to try signing to their 10-man practice squad after the cut-down:
| Position | Starter(s) | Backups | Practice Squad |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | McNabb | Ponder, Webb | |
| WR | Berrian, Harvin, Jenkins | Camarillo (?), J. Johnson, Aromashodu | Arceneaux, Iglesias, S. Burton |
| RB | Peterson | Gerhart, Booker | Davis, Robinson |
| FB | D’Imperio (?) | Asiata | |
| TE | Shiancoe, Rudolph | Kleinsasser, Dugan | Reisner |
| OL | Loadholt (RT), Hutchinson (LG), Sullivan (C), Herrera (RG), C. Johnson (LT) | DeGeare, R. Cook, Cooper, Love | Brown, Fusco |
| DL | Robison (LE), Williams (UT), Ayodele (NT), J. Allen (RE) | Griffen, Ballard, Awasom, Guion, Reed | |
| LB | Greenway (S), E.J. Henderson (M), Erin Henderson (W) | Brinkley, Farwell, Onatolu | Homan |
| CB | Winfield, Griffin | C. Cook, Sherels, A. Allen (?) | Parks, Torrence, B. Burton |
| S | T. Johnson, Abdullah | Sanford, Brinkley, Frampton, Carter | Raymond |
| K | Longwell | ||
| P | Kluwe | ||
| LS | Loeffler | ||
| KR | J. Johnson* | ||
| PR | Booker* |
An asterisk indicates a special teams player already listed on the roster in another capacity. A question mark beside a name indicates that the player is probably “on the bubble” to make the team, and might not be eligible for the practice squad.
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August 28, 2011
Cowboys 23 Vikings 17 in 3rd preseason match-up
The game was not being broadcast in my area, so all the information I had was via Twitter updates.
Vikings’ scratches for tonight’s game were Asher Allen (CB), Toby Gerhart (RB), Kenny Onatolu (LB), Ross Homan (LB), Heath Farwell (LB), Visanthe Shiancoe (TE), and Kevin Williams (DT). No surprises in any of those names.
This was the first start for Anthony Herrera, who suffered a torn ACL late last season. I hope he gets back into his game quickly, as the offensive line has been an area of concern even before Bryant McKinnie was released. Letroy Guion took the first team snaps for Kevin Williams, who is suffering from a lingering foot issue (plantar fasciitis).
Some positions are still tightly contested, including two (or three) wide receiver slots (take your pick of Camarillo, Aromashodu, Arceneaux, Iglesias, and Jaymar Johnson), strong safety (Tyrell Johnson, Jamarca Sanford, and Mistral Raymond), and dime cornerback (Asher Allen, Marcus Sherels, and Tony Carter). If any of them distinguish themselves tonight, it’ll be a big step towards making the 53-man roster.
Among the folks not able to attend the game: Zygi Wilf, the majority owner of the team. He lives in New Jersey and was prevented from getting to the game by Hurricane Irene (it’s only the second home game he’s missed since purchasing the team in 2006).
The first score of the game was a 49-yard pass from Donovan McNabb to Bernard Berrian for a TD. Dallas defender Abram Elam nearly had the pick, but the ball went through his hands.
On the Cowboys’ next series, there was a scary moment for Vikings fans as starting cornerback Antoine Winfield went down after hitting Jason Witten. Winfield did not return to the field, but he described the injury as a “stinger”. Dallas scored a field goal on the drive, putting the score at 7-3 Vikings.
The Cowboys went ahead on a blocked field goal attempt when Kyle Rudolph missed a block on Orlando Scandrick. The ball was picked up and run in for the score by Alan Ball. 10-7 Cowboys.
On the following series, McNabb’s pass to Kleinsasser was tipped by defensive end Jason Hatcher and intercepted by safety Gerald Sensabaugh. Dallas turned that into a 17-7 lead on a TD by Felix Jones, powering through Tyrell Johnson and Cedric Griffin. (Tom Pelissero thought that Johnson may have lost his chance to stay with the team on a missed interception and poor tackling on the TD run.)
Cord Parks, who I was impressed with in the first two preseason games, has a nice return on the kick-off, putting the Vikings offence back in business on the Dallas 42-yard line. Unfortunately, Percy Harvin dropped a pass on third down, forcing a Ryan Longwell field goal to move the score to 17-10.
Christian Ballard got a sack inside the two-minute warning, to force a Dallas punt (his second sack in three games). At the half, the score was still 17-10 for Dallas.
The Vikings’ first team stayed in the game for one series, then gave way to the second team, led by Joe Webb. Dallas added a field goal on the following series. Webb completed a 43-yard pass to Manny Arceneaux, then followed that up with a rushing TD to move the score to 20-17.
Christian Ponder came in to the game with just over five minutes left to play, then had a bad exchange with center Brandon Fusco. Dallas moved the score to 23-17 on the next series, with a field goal by Dan Bailey.
That ended up being the final score. Significant stats were Donovan McNabb’s 12 of 18 passes for 164 yards, with one TD and one INT, Bernard Berrian with two passes for 64 yards (and a TD), and Adrian Peterson with 11 carries for 69 yards.
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August 21, 2011
Vikings 20, Seahawks 7 in second preseason game
A much better game for the Vikings than last week, although the score somewhat flatters them. I think the game did provide lots of justification for not re-signing Tarvaris Jackson, who had a less-than-stellar game against his former team.
The Vikings had a long list of players who were inactive for this game, including Percy Harvin, Greg Camarillo, Anthony Herrera, and Visanthe Shiancoe. This provided some opportunities for less experienced players to get extended playing time and — in a few cases — give the coaches reasons to keep them on the roster after mandatory cut-downs.
Cedric Griffin started the game (although he was only on the field for part of the first quarter) and showed that he can still play at a high level. He may be the first pro football player ever to make a recovery from torn ACL injuries in both legs. He got involved in the very first play, breaking up a pass intended for Golden Tate.
Jared Allen had a great opportunity to sack Jackson during the first Seattle series, but somehow couldn’t wrap him up. A rare miss for Allen. The Vikings’ first team defence was getting very good penetration all through the first half, forcing Jackson to dodge and run more than Seattle’s game plan probably called for. He was elusive enough to avoid most of the pressure, however.
The Vikings’ first offensive series was brief, but eventful: Charlie Johnson let Seattle’s Raheem Brock get a clear run at Donovan McNabb’s blind side for a sack. The tight end on that side went immediately into a receiving pattern, and nobody touched Brock. Suddenly the left tackle position is up for grabs again. Jeremy Fowler reported on his Twitter feed: “LT Charlie Johnson on early sack on McNabb: ‘Yeah, I messed up. I own up to it. I went the wrong way'”. Minnesota only managed three offensive plays in the first quarter.
Marcus Sherels had a bad time on a punt return, fumbling the ball and giving Seattle another set of downs. He then more than made up for the error four plays later by catching a deflected pass from Jackson to Tate, and running it 64 yards for the first touchdown of the night.
The Vikings had a nice goal-line stand, keeping Seattle from scoring on four attempts from the 2-yard line. McNabb then led the attack on a nice drive, going 6 of 8 for 81 yards, but couldn’t get into the end zone, so Longwell kicked the field goal to make the score 10-0.
Christian Ponder took over after the next series, completing 4 of 9 attempts for 31 yards (plus some help on penalties) leading to another Longwell field goal.
Seattle finally got on the board early in the second half, with an Anthony McCoy touchdown after a bad snap — the second game that the Vikings’ opponent has scored on a bad snap. I somehow doubt that teams will add it to their playbooks, however.
Joe Webb took over from Ponder early in the fourth quarter, with the score at 13-7. Seattle saved a sure touchdown by Manny Arceneaux by punching the ball out just before Arceneaux could cross the goal line: the ball rolled out the back of the end zone for a touchback. Arceneaux was a stand-out wide receiver for the BC Lions, but is considered a rookie in the NFL. This is a rookie mistake that could keep him from making the team.
Another unknown hoping to make the final roster, Tristan Davis, scored a late touchdown on a nice 35-yard run to put the game out of reach for Seattle.
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August 14, 2011
Titans 14, Vikings 3 in first preseason matchup
I didn’t see the game live, but I caught about three quarters of it on NFL Network’s replay this morning. As anyone could have predicted, it was a sloppy game for both teams. Both Titans scores came off turnovers, while the Vikings quarterbacks and receivers still haven’t quite gelled (miscues and missed catches were far too common).
Here’s Judd Zulgad‘s summary after the game:
The Vikings unveiled what could be best described as a soft launch of their new offense Saturday night in their preseason opener against Tennessee.
It was far from a success.
Quarterback Donovan McNabb, making his Vikings debut, played two series in a 14-3 loss at LP Field. The Vikings’ only points came from a 37-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell in the third quarter. But no one in the visitor’s locker room expressed any concern — not with three preseason games and plenty more installation to go before the Sept. 11 regular-season opener at San Diego.
“I thought their effort was good, and the execution was good up to a point,” new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. “We always want points. We’ll have to make bigger strides next time with that first unit.”
I tuned in just as McNabb was finishing his time on the field, and the time of possession seemed to be strongly in Tennessee’s favour, so Joe Webb played into the second half and Christian Ponder finished out the game (Rhett Bomar was supposed to play, but didn’t get a chance).
Several starters were held out or only made the briefest of appearances on the field, and some backups made good use of the extra playing time (Jaymar Johnson for one). Other players, unfortunately, lowered their stock by making mistakes (Chris Cook’s name came up far too often in the wrong context here, for example).
Just watching the players in game mode shows how different things are from seeing footage of them in team drills at camp: some players who were said to have had “great camps” were nowhere near as effective in the real game situations. On the other hand, the offensive line did better than expected given the training camp picture.
If nothing else, the coaches now have a lot of things on film to help evaluate players and fix problems that showed up during the game.
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