The Purple
Your Minnesota Vikings are off to a solid start after trouncing the Browns yesterday. Few notes:
1. This had the feeling of a game that, in years past, would have been a lot closer in the second half. I guess the Browns are that bad but with TJac at the helm, I'm not sure we would have walked away with this one.
2. AP. I want to be his BFF.
3. Defense - Where was that pass rush? Why didn't we just crush the run? I think our defense is going to be great but would have liked to see a few more big plays out of them.
4. Special teams - how f'ing hard is it to not give up a return every goddam game? Up until that play, speical teams had my game ball.
5. Harvin - he is the steal of the draft in my opinion. Playmaker. Gonna make rookie mistakes but he's a weapon and a half.
6. Favre - No mistakes and didn't have to chuck it to win it. He took a couple sacks that were good to take instead of trying to do too much as in years past.
7 Comments:
I caught most of the second half, though I was half asleep some of the 4th quarter. Looks like Favre subsumed his ego to the team concept for at least the time being.
AP is just amazing. I don't remember any back finishing runs the way he does. Complete stop on that 65-yarder, to literally throw a DB to the ground, then sprinted away again. Wow.
Jan, did you make it to the U on Saturday? I taped the second half of the replay of it on the Big Ten Network (initial showing conflicted with IL) and watched yesterday. Loved it. Weird moment when I caught a bit of it last Saturday night. Thought process: "Oh, crowded stadium at night for a college football game. Must be out west or in the SEC, and, wait, what's that big "M" in the middle of the field? OHMIGOD THEY'RE ALL WEARING MAROON AND GOLD! WOOOOOOOOH!!!"
Getting dusty in here moment occurred in the 3rd quarter. Big Ten Network cut to a radio broadcast (presumably on 'CCO?) where they had invited a special guest back. So there I was, watching outdoor Gopher home football being called by Ray Christenson. Nice.
September 14, 2009 at 10:35 AM
I was unable to see the Vikes down here but saw the AP highlights. It still seems foreign to me that the Vikings have the best RB in the league.
I did see the second half of the Gophers. It looked like a great atmosphere. The Gophers made some big plays late in the game that really fired the crowd up. It was good win. In future flashbacks regarding the first game at the stadium, the first offensive and defensive TDs it will be nice that they were not against the likes of Illinois St or Buffalo.
September 14, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Did not attend the game on Saturday night but watched the DVR'd version and was pretty pumped about the stadium and how we won the game (RTS - great point about the first points being scored by Gopher players in a WIN versus a loss.) One lowlight was our helmets that have apparently flecks of gold in them that make it look like it rained and water droplets were on their helmet. Also, when did we go all "gold" in the unis?
The Ray Christensen thing was a great addition to the night, just a classy thing by the U all around. (BTW - Christensen does radio ads for Washington/McGreavy funeral homes now so it was fun to hear him call a game versus tell me about the stellar reputation of a funeral parlor.)
Back to the Vikes for a second - RTS you are right again, it is surreal to watch Peterson in a Vikes jersey. I also love how great a guy he seems to be who really wants to win and will throw his body around to do it. Think about this, he has played like 31 NFL games and has a highlight reel like he's been around for a decade.
September 14, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Fellas,
Great weekend all around (except for NU's contribution to RTS' mythical bankroll - at least we won the game. Phew). The OSU/USC game was also fairly entertaining, for once, as was the Michigan/ND game (I love watching ND lose - I just do).
I toggled back and forth to the Gophers game (as I was also tracking USC/OSU). The atmosphere looked great...and hey, anything is better than the Dome. Agree that it's nice to actually play and beat a quality opponent.
I saw the whole Vikes game. BTW, DirecTV is seriously the only way to go - you can get all the NFL games and get ALL the Big Ten Networks at the same time, so I can see whomever is playing and not wait for the replay. Agree with Jan that this is a game the Vikes would have blown in years past, especially after Cribbs' punt return. Luckily, our D was great, for the most part, about bending but not breaking. Antoine Winfield is seriously my favorite player on the team not named Peterson. Brady Quinn also helped us out by throwing one up for grabs and then fumbling when he tried to throw a pass (a la Jay Cutler last year). Nice.
My main concern regarding #4 was that he looked INCREDIBLY immobile in the pocket. I mean, he looked Dan Marino or Drew Bledsoe-esque back there. Point being this: we'll need good pass protection against the likes of the Giants and Chicago, or he's gonna get killed.
And yes, Percy Harvin is going to be good. Remember three years ago, when Chester Taylor was our best offensive weapon? Wow...
Did anyone else watch the game last night?!? I couldn't decide who I wanted to lose...packers or bears. In the end, it was enjoyable to watch Cutler lose. Apparently, Urlacher is out for the year. Gosh darn it...I never wish for injuries, so I hope he's fine next year.
September 14, 2009 at 4:26 PM
BG,
Re: Favre looking as mobile as Marino- I was thinking the exact same thing when I was watching yesterday. He went down so easily on that delyaed corner rush off the outside (I think it was late in the 2nd quarter).. not that he was ever fast, but I'm guessing he couldn't outrun any of those passrushers from the Wrangler commercial, much less the D-lineman that he's going to face all season.
I know, I know, we won- and quite easily too, but we were also playing a D-II team in the Browns, so I think we have to keep things (and Favre's performance) in perspective.
AP- wow... love the runs, loved the blood spewing from his arm in the 3rd quarter... likely the most exciting player to watch in the NFL right now- and love that he is a viking.
Gopher stadium looked awesome- I was actually in MN this weekend and went down to check out the new stadiums (Gophers and Twins), both looked pretty great, though I couldn't get very close to the Twins site. The Bank is easily accessible and I walked right up to the gates on the open-end side of the field. As I was standing there the band was practicing inside- great moment when the brass section walked up to the gates and started playing the rouser...felt very good, indeed.
Anybody know the true story on Bobby Wade yet?
September 14, 2009 at 5:14 PM
BG, good point on the difficulty viewing last night's game. I ened up, probably for the first time ever, wanting the Pack to win a game. Against anyone else, I'm well aware that would be inexcusable, but if any of y'all had had to witness all the preseason dicksucking going on around here re: the Bears in general and Cutler in particular, you'd know why it's really called the Windy City. Talk about insufferable. Then SI goes and pours lighter fluid on it all and "predicts" the Bears to the Super Bowl. Sports columnists started using this (I'm not kidding, by the way) as justification for their own overly high expectations. "Hey, SI thinks we're Super Bowl bound! We must be that good." Never mind those 459,000 other prognosticators with better track records than the SI staff who disagree.
It's like no one here could even acknowledge they've got likely the weakest defense of the three teams at this point, still living off 2006 and predicated on Tommy Harris' knees magically regenerating and Vasher magically becoming a Pro Bowler again after get torched repeatedly last year. Or that Forte's probably overrated. Or that a guy who, prior to last night, had 0 NFL receptions, is the best WR on the team. Even with Cutler playing well, their offense is still arguably weaker than either Green Bay's or ours.
Well, that's enough Bears ranting for this week. Suffice it to say, the essential truth at the core of the Superfans skits remains unchanged.
September 14, 2009 at 5:39 PM
Oh, and, yes, it's a shame about Urlacher. Seriously. He's had some bad luck with nagging injuries for a few years now, and now a major one. Contrary to my dismissal of other Bears defensive players in my last post, he did actually look poised for a return to high level of play after getting over the minor stuff that was hindering his explosiveness (and making him look like he was declining fast).
September 14, 2009 at 5:43 PM
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