Chuck Foreman set a Vikings record when he scored 22 touchdowns in 1975. The second place spot was just achieved by Adrian Peterson in 2009 with 18 TDs. The third place spot is 17 TDs scored, shared by Cris Carter (1995) and Randy Moss (1998 and 2003).
This week our Minnesota Vikings will head to San Francisco to take on the 49ers in the second preseason game of the year.
Not Quite At Full Strength… but closer
Last week there was no Favre, no Peterson, no Rice, no Harvin, and no Sullivan with the starting team. It made the “starters” feel much less like starters.
This week will be a little better. I expect Brett Favre to play at least a series or two just to get himself warmed up a bit. I read that Adrian Peterson will get at least a couple carries this week as well.
Percy Harvin is back with the team today after collapsing and being hospitalized yesterday, but from the sounds of it he didn’t actually take part in practice. It’s probably pretty doubtful that he’ll play Sunday night, and it sounds like Sidney Rice and John Sullivan will be out again as well.
But having 2 more starters that last week should feel a little closer to the real thing, at least.
A better look at Tarvaris?
Last week Brad Childress treated Tarvaris Jackson like he was the starting quarterback (technically at that point he was). Jackson got one series with the offense and then sat for the rest of the night. He was 2 for 4 in that series.
In my opinion, only one of the two missed passes was his fault, and for playing in a Vikings offense without 3 of it’s major components, I thought he played decently well.
A lot of people have talked up how much more confident he is in the offense these days, but I don’t think it was possible to see if that’s the case after one series. It should help seeing him a little more on Sunday night, although he will be playing with mostly 2nd stringers at that point.
A better look at Webb?
Joe Webb was fun to watch last week. He really only led one drive, though. I’m hoping to see a little more of him Sunday to see if he can be consistent with the skill set that he showed.
I still only expect him to play a quarter, though… but I haven’t read the Vikings official plans about this game yet.
I’m expecting Favre to start, T Jack will take over in the second series and play until half time, Sage will play the 3rd, and Webb will play the 4th. Again, that’s just a guess, though. I haven’t read anything official.
My Prediction
Predicting preseason games is hard because you don’t really know who will be playing when… but last week I was dead on with my prediction of 28-7. This week I still think the Vikings will score 28 points, but I’m going to say the 9ers will score 17.
Adrian Peterson needed only 8 games to reach 1,000 yards rushing during his rookie season in 2007. No other Vikings player ever reached that mark in fewer than 10 games.
The Minnesota Vikings have had some great running backs over the years. These players have played a large role in many of the successes of the team too. Here is a look at five interesting facts about the Minnesota Vikings running game.
But He Didn’t Do It All In Minnesota!
While Robert Smith is the all time career rushing leader for the Vikings with 6,818 yards, he does not hold the record for most career rushing yards by a player drafted by Minnesota. That honor belongs to Terry Allen who from 1991 to 1994 gained 2,795 yards in Minnesota, placing him at 11th all time in team history (right behind Chester Taylor and right ahead of Fran Tarkenton). Allen went on though to play for the Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, and Baltimore Ravens, finishing with 8,614 career rushing yards.
Hey, That’s Not Your Job!
Robert Smith is the all time career rushing leader for the Vikings. Who ranks the highest in career rushing yards among Minnesota receivers though? No receiver ran for more rushing yards for the purple and gold during his career than the great Anthony Carter. Carter carried the ball 47 times for 289 yards and two touchdowns while with the team. His first rushing touchdown came in a 1991 win over the Atlanta Falcons and the second one came a week later in a 1992 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Second on the list of highest rushing Vikings wide receivers is Randy Moss with 23 carries for 159 yards and no touchdowns.
Put A Handle On That Thing!
The record for most fumbles by a Minnesota Vikings running back is 54 and is held by two different players. Bill Brown played with the team from 1962 to 1974. He was moderately successful, including leading the league in rushing attempts in 1966. He was also a decent receiving back as well. Over the course of his time in Minnesota, which covered 12 seasons, he accumulated 54 fumbles. Tommy Mason is the player Brown is tied with, but he took a little different route to the record. While Brown tied the mark over 12 years of play, Mason set the record when his 54 fumbles came in just the six seasons he played with the team. His lowest number of fumbles for one year was the six he put up in 1966, his last year with the team, of course he only started six games that season though. In 1963, he fumbled the ball an amazing 14 times, approximately once every 14 times he touched the ball.
Working Overtime
Only three players in team history have ever carried the ball more than 300 times in one season, and they all did it since the year 2006. In 2006, Chester Taylor set the record for most carries in one season for the team with 303. Adrian Peterson then broke that team record in 2008 by carrying the ball 363 times. The very next season Peterson again broke the mark by carrying the ball 314 times.
Triple Threat Running Backs
Most running backs specialize in carrying the ball, some are also very good receivers, but there are very few that go down in the record books for their throwing ability. Seven Vikings running backs have thrown touchdown passes in team history. Darrin Nelson, Keith Henderson, D.J. Dozier, Chester Taylor, Mewelde Moore, and Tommy Mason each threw one at different times during the past. But one running back in particular stands above those. Alfred Anderson is the only running back to throw two touchdown passes during his time with the team. Both of these were thrown during the 1984 season, the first one came in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and went for 20 yards and was caught by quarterback Tommy Kramer, the second one came in a win over the Atlanta Falcons and was a 43 yarder to receiver Dwight Collins. Incidentally, this would be the only touchdown reception in Collins’ entire career which lasted just that one season in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Vikings have had a great history so far and their running backs have played a large role in that. For a look at a some great Minnesota Vikings trivia, check out IQFB.com.
The Minnesota Vikings running back situation is something that has been in question since the end of the season. Fans knew Chester Taylor wasn’t going to stick around, and of course we were right (he is now a Chicago Bear). The Vikings made a run at LaDainian Tomlinson, but he signed with the Jets instead.
Then the Vikings looked internally… could Albert Young do it? Maybe, but to be sure they had their bases the Vikings decided to move Darius Reynaud to the running back position as well.
Then comes the draft, and with their second pick of the weekend, the Vikings selected Toby Gerhart… a running back.
So what exactly does that mean for Albert Young? How about for Darius Reynaud?
The first step the Vikings need to do is to hire me to come up with personnel game plans for them.
Since that won’t happen, they need to at least read this blog.
But since that won’t happen either, I’ll go ahead and just tell you guys what they should do.
1. Toby Gerhart = Innovation
First of all, they should think outside the box a little bit. They need to get rid of Nafahu Tahi (or at least make him a backup), and be innovative with the fullback position. The Vikings should consider Toby Gerhard their fullback, but they should NOT use him in the same manner that they used Tahi.
Last year Tahi carried the ball 3 times for 5 yards, and caught the ball 10 times for 67 yards. In 2008 he didn’t carry at all, and he caught the ball 16 times for 37 yards.
He’s not exactly a necessary piece of the offensive puzzle. His job is basically to block.
But why waste an offensive position (that’s not an offensive lineman) JUST to block. Toby Gerhart can block. He may be 20 pounds lighter than Tahi, but I don’t think those 20 pounds will make THAT much of a difference. But the difference that Gerhart will make comes in the innovation. He wouldn’t be a traditional fullback. Instead he’d be one that got more carries and more catches. The Vikings could line him up in an I-formation with Peterson behind him, and the other team would truly not know who was getting the ball.
Gerhart is a good strong runner, he can block, and he’s a lot faster than Tahi. If the Vikings handed off to him from the fullback position a few times a game, and threw to him a few more, imagine how much more effective the play action becomes! But Gerhart is also an athlete. On some plays you could motion him out and he becomes a viable receiver as well.
How many times do you think teams game-planned for situations when Nafahu Tahi took a handoff?
Gerhart could change that, and any time you add some guesswork to opposing defenses gameplan, it frees up the Vikings offense.
2. Albert Young = The New Chester Taylor
Secondly, they need to give Albert Young the position that Chester Taylor played last year. Make him the official third down back. Albert Young is a solid runner and a patient runner. He can also catch very well out of the backfield, and he’s a smart player. He is basically a young version of Chester Taylor. Let him play like one.
I’ve made it known that I’m a big fan of Albert Young, mainly because he’s a former Hawkeye and I watched him play in college. However, I really don’t think I’m being biased here. I think Young is ready to fill this role.
Young only carried the ball 12 times last year, but he averaged 4.4 yards per carry. 10 of those carries came in the 4th quarter of the week 17 game against the New York Giants. Young got to carry the load for an entire quarter, playing without the benefit of having Favre under center, or Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian as the wide-outs, and he rushed for 40 yards. Nothing fancy, just very reliable. In the pre-season, rushing behind 2nd and 3rd string linemen, he averaged 3.5 yards per carry, and he was a consistently safe target for guys like John David Booty to throw to.
Young is the safest bet the Vikings have as a third down back.
3. Darius Reynaud = More Innovation
I think Reynaud needs to be officially listed as the third running back on the depth chart behind Peterson and Young, but I think the Vikings need to add him in their plans for being innovative.
Since his move to running back, I see Reynaud as the Reverse-Percy-Harvin. Harvin is a wide receiver who can do it all. He’s a dangerous route runner who can also line up in the backfield and be an explosive runner.
The Vikings need to establish Reynaud as the reverse version of that… a good runner who can motion into the slot and be a great route runner.
Reynaud probably won’t get a lot of looks specifically at running back or wide receiver, but with the option of being able a good option to keep the other players fresh through out the game. Reynaud has decent speed and he’s shown on his punt returns that he has the ability to make defenders miss.
The Moral Of The Story: Innovation, Innovation, Innovation.
Imagine what the Vikings could do if they lined up on the field with Reynaud as their halfback, Gerhart as their fullback, Percy Harvin as a wide receiver, and Joe Webb as a wildcat quarterback? The Vikings could have 4 guys on the field that can do multiple things to keep the defenses guessing at the same time that they gave Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, and a receiver or two a quick breather.
Obviously something like this shouldn’t happen often, but if the Vikings flashed that lineup 2-4 times per game (they could throw it out there once per quarter), it could be just enough to make opposing defenses have to take time planning how they’re going to defend it.
… and less time for defenses to practice for Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre is always a good thing for the Vikings
Adrian Peterson’s Oklahoma teammate Rufus Alexander was also drafted by the Vikings in the same draft that they took Peterson. Alexander was drafted in the sixth round.
It’s a slow time around Vikingland these days. Everyone is gearing up for the NFL draft, and the Vikings aren’t making a whole lot of moves to get excited about, so it leaves me with time to look back a little bit.
As you can probably tell by my game previews during the season, I’m a big fan of stats. As you can also probably tell by my daily trivia posts, I’m a pretty big fan of Vikings history as well.
A week or two ago I posted a fact about Herschel Walker as part of my Daily Trivia, and several of people following The Viking Ship on Facebook commented about how terrible of a trade the Vikings made to get Herschel.
Well, they were absolutely right.
It was a terrible move, NOT because of Herschel himself or his value as a player, but because no player is worth what the Vikings gave up. I don’t remember the exact details of the trade, but if I recall, the Vikings gave up 103 players, 243 draft picks, 16 cows, 42 chickens, a 1988 Ford truck, $17 billion in cash, and 3 scratch-off lottery tickets (those numbers are all “approximate”)
Then Herschel comes to the team, has two good games, and then becomes completely mediocre.
After that, the Vikings let his contract expire and he’s picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles. His first year with the Eagles, and he’s a 1,000 yard rusher.
So what gives?
Herschel Walker himself claims that the Vikings coaching staff didn’t really want him there, and they didn’t want to be proven wrong. (For the record, Jerry Burns was the coach at the time).
My first thought is that that sounds like a big excuse from a player who can’t admit that he played terrible football.
But the stats junkie in me can’t let that slide without looking into it. So let’s take a look at Herschel’s stats as a Viking:
Rushing/Receiving Statistics
Rushing
Receiving
Year
Team
G
GS
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Rec
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
1989
Minnesota (NFL)
–
–
169
669
4.0
47
5
18
162
9.0
24
1
1990
Minnesota (NFL)
16
16
184
770
4.2
58t
5
35
315
9.0
32
4
1991
Minnesota (NFL)
15
15
198
825
4.2
71t
10
33
204
6.2
19
0
Well, there it is… no 1,000 yard season. But wait? Look at his average rushing yards. 4.0, 4.2, and 4.2 in his three seasons as a Viking?
Adrian Peterson rushed for 4.4 yards per carry in 2009. Chester Taylor rushed for 4.0 yards per carry in 2006. In his best season as a Viking (in terms of total yards), Chuck Foreman rushed for 4.0 yards per carry. These were all considered good seasons.
So what’s the difference between Herschel and these guys?
In 2009, Adrian Peterson carried the ball 314 times. In 2006 Chester Taylor carried the ball 303 times. In 1976 (the year talked about above), Chuck Foreman carried the ball 278 times.
The Vikings have had 15 seasons with a running back who rushed for over 1,000 yards. In those 15 seasons, that running back was given the ball for an average of 273 carries per year.
In his three seasons in Minnesota, Herschel Walker was never given the ball 200 times in a single year.
If he had been given the ball 273 times in the two seasons he rushed for 4.2 yards per carry, he would’ve gained 1,146 yards. In the year he gained 4.0 yards per carry he still would’ve gained 1,092 yards with that many touches.
The last full year before Herschel came to Minnesota, he was given the ball 361 times and he ran for over 1,500 yards. In the first year after leaving Minnesota, Herschel was given the ball 267 times, and he rushed for over 1,000 yards.
Herschel claims that he was running just fine in Minnesota, but Burns did not want to give him the ball.
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Minnesota Vikings Trivia
Minnesota Vikings Trivia
Last year Tahi carried the ball 3 times for 5 yards, and caught the ball 10 times for 67 yards. In 2008 he didn’t carry at all, and he caught the ball 16 times for 37 yards.
Secondly, they need to give Albert Young the position that Chester Taylor played last year. Make him the official third down back. Albert Young is a solid runner and a patient runner. He can also catch very well out of the backfield, and he’s a smart player. He is basically a young version of Chester Taylor. Let him play like one.
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Minnesota Vikings Trivia
Minnesota Vikings Trivia
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