Thoughts on Win Over the Cardinals

The Vikings managed to win a sloppy game by a slim 21-14 margin over the Arizona Cardinals, but many concerns surfaced during the contest. Christian Ponder completed only 7 of 18 passes for 58 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. This type of play is absoultley a concern and won't be acceptable when the Vikings face fierece competition. Throwing across his body and making poor decisions highlighted Ponder's rough day, but I'm not ready to blame Ponder entirely for his interception just before halftime. With our offense deep in our own territory with 14 seconds remaining in the half, the coaching staff called a pass play, which resulted in an interception. Luckily this later led a missed field goal, but still was a poor decision. Leaving Mall of America Field, I felt we were very fortunate to win the game with all the mistakes made. If we had been playing teams like the Chicago Bears, or the Green Bay Packers, the outcome would have been deathly lobsided.

Adrian Peterson was the reason the Vikings were able to win this sloppy game. Peterson rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown and was averaging nearly 6.5 yards per carry. He was burning clock, while moving the chains, which kept the game moving swiftly. Peterson is by far one of the single players in the NFL that can put his team on his shoulders at any given point. Peterson knew it was a must win situation and he brought the best possible game on Sunday.

I love the way our defense is playing and I feel like they receive limited credit for the great job they have done this season. Cardinals quarterback John Skelton was sacked 7 times and was hurried several more. The Vikings forced turnovers and Harrison Smith recorded an interception return for a touchdown in the second half. With our defense playing so strongly, our offense can have a bad game every once and awhile. We all know the adage, "Defense wins Championships," and our team is by far exceeding expectations in this category.

Now after a terrible performance by our offense, the Vikings must recover quickly to prepare for Thursday Night Football vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In order to even have a chance to win this game, Christian Ponder needs to improve his play and must make better decisions. The Buccaneers secondary without suspened Aqib Talib have been struggling the past few weeks. Ponder must exploit this weakness and may target Jerome Simpson vertically to strech the field. The Bucs are ranked 29th in the league in sacks, so Ponder should be protected well and should have elevated time to make a decision.

Overall, the performance wasn't the best we have seen by our Minnesota Vikings, but we are 5-2 and must keep the positivity afloat. With a few key adjustments the Vikings can compete with any team is this league, especially based on our defense and their ability to make plays on a game by game basis. When you begin to groan at the thought of this game, reflect back on last season and remember the 3-13 team we displayed last season. We are much improved and have certainly become the underdogs in this league.

Vikings vs. Redskins Preview

Look for running back Adrian Peterson
to have a big day in his first appearance
at FedEx Field since injuring
his left knee last December.

Today on Vikings Corner we will prepare you for kickoff of Vikings and Redskins at 3:25 p.m. today. Can the Vikings keep the momentum rolling against Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins? The Vikings have struggled this season on the road, losing to Indianapolis and failing to register an offensive touchdown vs. the Lions at Detroit. The Vikings will be in the nation's capital in a hostile environment and will need to be ready to play. The Redskins pass coverage has struggled this season and is one of the worst in the NFL. If we establish the run early with Adrian Peterson and attack with the tight ends often, we will dominate this contest. The key on the defense is to force the Redskins into 3rd and long situations where Griffin III is forced to look pass. Brian Robison and Jared Allen need to be ready to contain Griffin III by staying in their assignments and not allowing him to get the edge. Robert Griffin III suffered a concussion in last week's contest vs. the Atlanta Falcons and is very vulnerable. It will be very amusing to see if he freely runs outside the pocket, or if he is more conservative.

This is the Vikings first outdoor game the Vikings have played in this season. Blair Walsh will have to contend with outdoor elements for the first time in his NFL career. Will he be as consistent as in a enclosed playing field? It certainly will be a storyline to analyze after the game tonight.

As earlier mentioned,the Redskins secondary is one of the worst in league. Former Vikings Madieu Williams and Cedric Griffin are members of this secondary. Both of these players were disappointing for the Vikings and are displaying the same type of play that ran them out of Minnesota. Christian Ponder needs to look across the middle and in the seams for his tight ends. In addition, the Vikings should be able to attack the Redskins vertically down the field. Look for Jerome Simpson to have an active role if he is healthy and plays through his back/leg injury.

Vikings Corner would like to send their condolences to defensive end Everson Griffen and his family for the loss of his mother. Griffen rejoined the team on Friday and is prepared to play today. I  hope the team rallies around Griffen and he plays well for his mom. The true chemistry by our team was shown by the support they gave Everson hours after the loss of his mother. The team visited Griffen and told him to take as much time as he needed to be with his family. Look for Griffen to have a career day at FedEx Field.

Let's go on a flashback to December 24th 2011, Adrian Peterson barreled through the middle of the line of scrimmage took a hit to his left knee and was down in grieving pain. Later he suffered a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in his left knee. 10 months later Peterson is returning to FedEx Field as the Vikings starting running back. This story is one of the most remarkable recoveries in NFL history. Peterson worked as hard as anyone throughout the offseason and kept his eye on his target return of September 9th for the Viking's season opener. He accomplished this feat and proved that through hardwork you can accomplish anything in your life. Expect Peterson to register a big day as he remembers his exit in his last appearance in Washington.

If the Vikings win today, they will be in sole possession of first place in the NFC North for the first time since 2009. This is much deserved for Coach Frazier and his coaching staff who have worked tirelessly to bring this team back to championship form. There is still much more season to play out and many more situations to battle, but if the Vikings can continue to play at a high level they can be a great team in this league. The key turning point of this season will be in the second half of the season, when the Vikings get their first look at the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.

If the Vikings can accomplish the key factors I stated in this post, they will defeat the Washington Redskins 27-24.

Skol Vikings!

A Must See Vikings Creation

I received an email from Jeff Hahn over at iexposure.com making me aware of a great creation just in time for the Halloween. The pumpkins shown below are sure to spook out other NFL fans during the Halloween season.

You don't have to be an expert pumpkin carver to make these athletes come to life. With the great downloadable PDF files, you can download a custom template to place on the front of your pumpkin.The supplies needed to make these pumpkins are low and the majority of these pumpkins were carved with the "Pumpkin Carving Sets" sold at Target.

I was very impressed when I looked at these pumpkins and loved the great detail they displayed. It is great to see the Twin Cities area finally getting excited about Vikings football once again. These pumpkins show the pride and passion the state of Minnesota has for Minnesota Vikings football.

For more information including tips, supply lists, and PDF templates visit: http://www.iexposure.com/2012/10/11/minnesota-vikings-pumpkin-stencils

For anyone else with great Vikings creations, collections, and other great memorabilia, we would like to see them. Send photos or articles to vikings.corner@gmail.com and you could be featured on the website.

Skol Vikings!

Vikings vs. Titans Analysis

Today on Vikings Corner we will analyze the Vikings 30-7 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Vikings offense started the game off strong, as Percy Harvin ran into endzone on a 4 yard touchdown plunge. Harvin ran with a full head of steam and took three very hard hits on his way to the endzone. Earlier in the drive, Ponder targeted Harvin on a fade over a soft Cover-2. Harvin made a great catch and put the Vikings in the redzone for the first time of the game. The defense also forced a fumble early in the contest when the ball was stripped and Harrison Smith made a great recovery. This all happened before Smith was involved in a scrum over a fumble recovery. In the light of the moment, Smith shoved an official out of his way so he could help remove players from the top of the pile. This resulted in an immediate ejection and potentially a large fine from the league office.

In the late second quarter, Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck hit Antoine Winfield in the chest for an interception which resulted in a 42-yard Blair Walsh field goal. The Vikings' next drive covered 77 yards in 12 plays, and Walsh hit from 36 yards to make it 13-0 with 1:52 left in the half. The Vikings had many opportunities to get into the endzone, but the Titans defense stood strong and forced the Vikings to kick field goals. The Vikings defense went into halftime pitching a shutout of the Titans offense. Christian Ponder and the Vikings offense went three and out on the first possession, but the Vikings defense came up with a three and out and kept the shutout in tact.

The Vikings looked to get a drive going, as they went on a 12 play 69 yard drive, which resulted in a 26 yard Blair Walsh field goal. Once again the Vikings offense couldn't get into the endzone and settled for a field goal. The Vikings got the ball off a three and out and put together a great drive totaling 6 plays accumulating 61 yards, which resulted in a 10 yard Christian Ponder touchdown pass to Percy Harvin. Harvin broke four Titans tackles and bounced into the endzone, completing a sensational touchdown. Harvin is by far the leader of this team and with a continued level of intensity, he could be a candidate for the league MVP award.

The Vikings defense dropped into "Prevent" and allowed the Titans to score on a ten yard strike from Hasselback to Jared Cook. The Vikings quickly answered with a Christian Ponder 15 yard touchdown strike to tight end Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph made a sensational catch in traffic extending the Vikings lead to 30-7; putting the game away for good. Titans head coach Mike Munchak evidently believed that the Titans were going to score 23 points in 2 minutes, as the Vikings began to set up in victory formation and the Titans called timeouts in an attempt to receive the ball. The Titans stalled and completed three slant passes and the Vikings stopped the heroics on 4th and 1, which completed a great team victory.

Overall, I like the direction this team is heading towards and the leadership they have displayed over the first 5 weeks of the season. The Vikings easily could have been 5-0 with some luck in Indianapolis in week 2. Coach Frazier issued the Vikings their first "Victory Monday" which gave them a day off to rest and heal. The Vikings need time to rest and recover in preparation for Robert Griffin III, who may not play after suffering a concussion this week. The Vikings will be tested in the next few weeks, as Arizona and Tampa Bay will be arriving at Mall of America Field to take on the Vikings all within a five day span. The future of this team will be dictated in the next few weeks and it will be interesting to see the Vikings preparation for the road ahead. If the Vikings continue to play great defense, they can compete with any team in the league on any given Sunday.

Vikings vs. Lions Analysis

Today on Vikings Corner we will give you our first analysis of the Vikings win over the Detroit Lions last Sunday.  The Vikings were looking to build upon a upset win a week before, vs. the San Francisco 49ers. The Vikings defense was solid and held the Detroit offense to only 13 points, largely due to a great pass rush and stellar backside play. The offense remained idle for most of the game, as the special teams scored two return touchdowns, which yielded the only touchdowns of the contest.

The special teams unit was as good as we have seen in the past 15 years. Percy Harvin took the opening kickoff 105 yards to begin the game. This shifted the momentum and gave the Vikings confidence. Later in the game, Marcus Sherels returned a punt for a touchdown, which was a task that hasn't been accomplished in over 4 seasons. Bernard Berrian was the last Viking to return a punt for a touchdown, in a rout of the Arizona Cardinals in November of 2008. The key to winning games is by scoring touchdowns in other ways then on offense. The Vikings struggled to get into the endzone through the offense unit, but the special teams touchdowns won us the game. Mike Priefer deserves praise for his great coaching and ability to have the right players schemed on the returns. Watching him coach at training camp is always interesting, as he expects the best out of every player on the roster.

The defense has been playing great all season, as the backend of the defense has been solidified. Harrison Smith is a ball-hawk and is a hard hitting safety. Brandon Pettigrew felt the footsteps of Smith and dropped a touchdown. We haven't had an effective safety like Smith since Robert Griffith. The defense leads the league in fumble recoveries since 2010. This stat has been overlooked in the past, but shows the our defense has the capability to make plays. Now if we can make some interceptions through the air, we can give our offense great field position.

The defensive line has been playing great as of late and forced Matthew Stafford to throw the ball quicker than usual. Everson Griffen had a huge sack in this game and has been a brightspot of this roster. Griffen is so versatile and has so much speed as a pass rusher. This poses this question, will the Vikings resign Kevin Williams at the end of this season? With Griffen's emergence, William's becomes less and less of a need. In order to stay with the organization he will have to take a significant paycut, which is something I don't foresee him accepting. We must remember Percy Harvin is going to be a free agent following this season. In order to pay Harvin, we will need to move some cap space. Williams could potentially be a cap casuality and isn't as big of an assest as in the past. Harvin is the MVP of the Vikings roster and is the most versatile player in the NFL. The Vikings need to resign Harvin at all costs during the 2013 offseason.

The offense continued to be successful as Adrian Peterson rushed for over 100 yards. Peterson had a burst and was close to breaking loose for several long runs. During the week before this game, AP stated, "I've shook off the rust and I'm ready to play." He had great cutting ability and was able to break tackles on a frequent basis. Look for Adrian to have a huge game this Sunday vs. the Titans.

Christian Ponder is the most improved player in the NFL this season. He hasn't thrown an interception through four games and has one of the best completion percentages in the league. The Vikings finally have a quarterback that will continue to improve and will mold into a championship quarterback. I liked Ponder after I watched him in his first training camp practices last season. He is such a great leader and is a "down to earth" type of man. I can't express how jubilant I am to see Christian Ponder continue his success en route to becoming one of the elite quarterbacks in this league.

After this win, members of the league are beginning to realize that the Vikings have the talent to have a great season. I'm so happy for Coach Frazier and the Vikings organization. They have all worked so hard to overhaul a roster and have been successful in the process. The key start was the draft executed by GM Rick Spielman in April. He selected young players who could make an immediate impact this season. I look for the Vikings to continue to build upon their success by being one of the "under the radar" teams in the NFL.