I was tweeted a message from @VikesFans asking me to check out his NFC North predictions for this coming season. It is a YouTube video, so I thought I’d just share it with all of you as well.
I agree with his thoughts as far as the Vikings winning the division and the Packers coming in 2nd. I also agree that the Lions will be better this year than they were last year, but I don’t think they’ll quite top the Bears just yet. The Lions are moving in the right direction, but I think it’ll take another year or two before they have things really click. They were a team that was terrible in every area just two years ago. They’ve made some big improvements, but they could use a couple more, and they need time to gel a bit.
What do you guys think?
I’d love to post some more NFC North predictions. You can send them to me however you want… they can be written out, or in video form, or whatever is easiest. Let’s see what you all think. Send things to me at jazz@thevikingship.net
Right now, the off-season news going around is boring. There are no big free agents to really be even hopeful for. OTAs can only be so interesting to read about before you feel like you’re reading the same info over and over and over.
To be honest, it’s hard to find interesting Vikings topics to write about.
So… we’ll make our own.
Here’s a tough question for you to answer:
Could you ever root against the Vikings against a rival?
So yeah, you’re probably saying “That’s not a tough question.” But let me throw in something else… what if you had a brother, or a son, or a best friend who played for the Bears or the Packers?
What if this brother/son/best friend played for the Bears or the Packers, and they were going to meet the Vikings in the playoffs?
What if this brother/son/best friend was nearing the end of his career, and this might be his last shot at ever going to the Super Bowl?
Could you root for the Vikings to lose an important game against a rival team?
WEEK 15: Monday, December 20
vs. Chicago Bears 7:30 p.m.
WEEK 16: Sunday, December 26
at Philadelphia Eagles 12:00 p.m.
WEEK 17: Sunday, January 2
at Detroit Lions 12:00 p.m.
I bolded the Prime Time games. The Vikings struggled a little bit last year in Prime Time, especially at the end of the year. They finish this year with two on the road, which could be tough if one of them wasn’t Detroit.
I think the toughest string of games happens immediately after the Bye Week when the Vikings will have to play At the Jets, against the Cowboys, at the Packers, then at the Patriots. Maybe the Vikes are fortunate that Kurt Warner retired, because the very next game is against the Cardinals, followed by games at Chicago and against the Packers. Luckily the Cardinals should be quite a bit weaker this year, so it should give the Vikings a bit of a break in that stretch.
The Bye Week is in Week 4. As a fan, it’s nice to get it out of the way early, but I’m sure the players would prefer that it was later in the year so they can break up their season a bit more.
But I was apparently wrong about LaDainian Tomlinson.
I wrote that I thought it was unlikely that Tomlinson would end up with the Vikings. I felt that Tomlinson would think he could still be a featured back somewhere in the league, and I felt that based on comments he made as recently as last September that he wouldn’t want to put himself in a spot where he had to back up Adrian Peterson.
ESPN seems to think I’m wrong about that. According to some talk on Mike and Mike this morning, the
Vikings are one of the contenders to land Tomlinson, and that Tomlinson would gladly fill the role that Taylor played last year because it would give him a chance
to play for a championship.
I know it’s not the same Tomlinson as two years ago, but I have to admit that I’d be a little excited at the prospect of a Peterson/Tomlinson one-two punch.
Of course, for it to be effective the Vikings would have to upgrade their blocking at center and/or right guard, but that’s a completely different topic.
According to ESPN.com, Chester Taylor has agreed to a 4 year deal with the Chicago Bears.
I really really like Chester Taylor, and I hope he does extremely well for 14 games next year (I h
ope he’s held to 0 yards against the Vikings… nothing personal). I hate to see Chester go, but I can’t say that I blame him.
He came to the Vikings in 2006 to prove that he could be a starting running back.
He succeeded.
Unfortunately for him, the Vikings drafted Adrian Peterson a year later.
Hmmm, I wonder if he went to the Bears just so that instead of backing up Adrian Peterson, he’d have Adrian Peterson backing him up.
Good luck, Chester. I hope you get a ton of playing time. I’m sorry that the Vikings are going to have to keep you from winning any more divisional titles.
The Vikings found a way to irritate and frustrate fans, give them hope and excitement, and tear out their heart all in one night as they lost in overtime to the Bears 36-30
Wow.
I don’t know if I’ve ever sat through a game that caused so many different emotions in a team.
First came the disgust.
In the first half, the Vikings were awful. The defense didn’t realize they were allowed to play in the game, and the offense thought that it would be nice of them to let the Bears keep the ball. Over 200 yards in the first half by the Bears completely overshadowed the 80-something that the Vikings had. The Vikings couldn’t run or pass or block, but other than that their offense was clicking (that was sarcasm, for those who might not have caught it).
At half time the Vikings were down 16-0
Then, when all seemed lost, Brett Favre seemed to forget it was December.
All the talk about Brett not getting along with Chilly, along with talk of him not being able to play well in the month of December vanished in the second half. The Vikings came out of the locker room and seemed to score at will, moving the ball up and down the field. Brett ended the game with over 300 yards passing and 2 TD, including the game tying throw to Sidney Rice with 9 seconds left on the clock. Things were looking good for Minnesota. They were heading into overtime with momentum on their side.
Uh oh, the Bears win the coin toss.
Not good. They also got themselves into field goal position rather quickly. They set up for the game winning 48 yard kick. Vikings fans were sure that it was all over.
HE MISSED!
THE VIKINGS GET THE BALL! Maybe miracles do happen!
Then comes the heartbreak.
The Vikings come out firing, and they’re moving the ball. Players are making big plays, and all is good.
Here comes a pass to Adrian Peterson who runs for the first down and then some.
Then it happened.
Then Adrian Peterson happened… and not in a good way.
He fumbled the ball in Vikings territory. The Bears went on to score an easy TD and win the game.
So who gets the blame?
Well, the defense played poorly.
Again.
That’s inexcusable.
The special teams had a few bad plays, which did not help at all.
Then we have to remember that the always-reliable Ryan Longwell had an extra point blocked… we obviously wouldn’t have been in the position to go into overtime without that.
The Vikings were playing without EJ Henderson or Pat Williams, which both had to take a toll.
But, and I apoligize for this… I have to put the blame on Adrian Peterson. I’m a huge Adrian Peterson fan. HUGE. I wish people “Happy Adrian Peterson Day” on game day.
But good players have to make clutch plays, and fumbling the ball in overtime is not a clutch play.
It’s a shame to say this, but as dangerous as Adrian Peterson is to other teams, he can also be that dangerous to the Vikings. I think on do-or-die situations like this passing plays have to go to Chester Taylor… maybe even the running plays.
I hope Peterson can figure out his fumbling issues quickly. The Playoffs are almost upon us.
The Vikings head to head record with the Bears currently sits at 52-42-2. The Vikings currently have a 2 game winning streak over the Bears. They last lost to the Bears in Week 7 of 2008. Brad Childress’ coaching record against Chicago is 4-3
Another night game for the Vikings as they head to Chicago for Monday Night Football!
Are you ready for some football? Let’s hope the Vikings are. This week they’ll head to Chicago to face the 5-9 Bears.
Can the Vikings right the ship?
Let’s face it. The Minnesota Vikings are better than the Chicago Bears. No question. But, on the other hand, the Minnesota Vikings were better than the Carolina Panthers, and that didn’t seem to help them at all last week.
Minnesota basically needs to clean up the sloppiness. No penalties, no sacks on Favre, make holes for Peterson, and crisp tackling. These are all things that the Vikings are capable of. They just need to execute.
The Vikings are still playing for a bye.
This week is still very important to the Vikings. All it takes is a win by the Vikings OR a loss by the Cardinals to knock Arizona out of the race for the first round bye, but it will take a win by the Vikings AND a loss by the Eagles to give Minnesota a chance to breathe easy in next week’s game against the Giants.
-Protect Favre
Last week I lay the majority of the blame for the Vikings loss to Carolina on the fact that they let Julius Peppers do whatever he wanted. While it’s true that the Bears don’t have a pass rusher on the level of Peppers, you also have to bet it’s true that they watched the tape of that game. Expect the Bears to do whatever it takes to pressure Favre to make sure he can’t get in a rhythm. The Vikings have to expect that and figure out (sometime BEFORE Tuesday) what the best counter is.
-Pressure Cutler
The Vikings have been a sack machine this year, but they’ve been a little slower at pressuring the QB in the past few weeks. If they can step that up against Cutler, not only will it disrupt their offense, but his league-leading 25 interceptions tells me that the Vikings might be able to force him into some bad plays.
-Run more creatively
Adrian Peterson is NOT going to win the rushing title this year…. so let’s not worry about him getting his yards. Instead, the Vikings need to mix things up with him and Taylor… put them both in the game, motion one of them out, motion Harvin back… something to keep the other teams guessing. We’re two weeks away from the start of the playoffs… it’s time for the Vikings to start putting some things on film that will worry another coordinator or two (besides our own)
My Prediction
Well, I was dead wrong last week in my prediction, but the Vikings are too good of a team to be embarrassed twice. However, I think because it’ll be very cold, and because it’s late in the season, I think we’ll see Tarvaris sooner than we normally might. I’m gonna give this one to the Vikings at 24-10 with Tarvaris coming in after a 17-10 lead in the 3rd quarter.
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Chester Taylor is a Chicago Bear
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