Casey Johnson
What a beginning to the 2014 NFL season Vikings fans!
Sure, the Vikings weren’t exactly playing the 2007 New England Patriots, but they still went to St. Louis and very impolitely beat down the front door of the Edward Jones Dome. The Vikings handily battered the Rams 34-6 Sunday in St. Louis, as they started the season with some gusto and the Rams started the season as lame as the name of their stadium (sorry Edward Jones enthusiasts, just not a great stadium name).
It was clear going into the game that the St. Louis offense wasn’t exactly a smoke show. Last season, the Rams were 21st in the NFL in points per game (21.8 points/game) and 30th in the NFL in yards per game (304.8 yards/game). To add injury to insult, they, as all of NFL fandom is aware, lost starting quarterback Sam Bradford to an ACL injury in the preseason. So it was supposed going into the game that Minnesota’s new defense being run by 1st year head coach Mike Zimmer was going to have a somewhat easy and mediocre challenge to start the season. Of course, you never know what is going to happen in the NFL, and Minnesota’s defense made every offense look good last season, on their way to dead last in the NFL in points allowed per game (30.0 points/game given up).
During halftime of one Minnesota home game last season, I’m pretty sure that I actually heard a 5th grade quarterback say, as he was running onto the field to engage in some peewee football hilarity, that he could “pick apart” Minnesota’s secondary and that he would be celebrating later with a Capri Sun Mountain Cooler. In Minnesota’s defense, though, there was probably a lot of confusion on the sidelines and on the field as both players and coaches strained to understand the faint whisper of Leslie Frazier’s hummingbird-like voice.
Fortunately, true to the common Vikings fan’s expectations for Sunday’s game, Minnesota’s defense did its best impersonation of Tupperware and superbly contained St. Louis’ stale, bland, and plain baked potato offense (without the fixings of course).
Again, I realize that no one is going to confuse these Rams for “The Greatest Show on Turf,” but the Minnesota defenders truly made the Rams look like “The Worst Show in the Turf,” as they held the Rams scoreless in the 1st half and then repeatedly pulverized St. Louis’ 3rd string quarterback Austin Davis in the 2nd half. The Vikings defensive front clearly smelled blood in the water in the 2nd half, as St. Louis’ headless snake of an offense was forced to put in their 3rd string quarterback and become one-dimensional due to their deficit. They constantly harassed Davis and were able to sack him four times, while also pressuring him into throwing the interception that Harrison Smith returned to the house.
All in all, Minnesota’s defense bore no resemblance to last year’s squad, which, like remembering to wear underwear, is definitely a good thing.
Offensively, Minnesota was also able to control the game. Aside from some procedural penalties and a couple of snap miscommunications, Minnesota’s offense was able to dictate play with a smart, semi-conservative approach, while utilizing its two best weapons, Adrian Peterson and Cordarrelle Patterson, as runners. It was clear within the first two snaps of the game that new offensive coordinator Norv Turner intended to use Patterson both as a decoy to open up the field for his teammates and as a ball-carrying weapon out of the backfield. Patterson’s amazing talent was then put on display in the 3rd quarter during his explosive, eye-widening, exaltation-inspiring 67-yard TD run that capped a one play Minnesota scoring drive and upped their lead to 20-3. That run increased Patterson’s rushing total to 102 yards on just 3 carries and allowed him to overshadow Adrian Peterson’s ground game (21 carries for just 75 yards).
Regardless of who rushed for more yards, though, the one-two tandem of Peterson and Patterson proved to be as dynamic of a duo as TVs and couches and will be an absolute treat to watch this season. That combo will also continue to make the job of Matt Cassel easier as well, and on Sunday, Cassel played smartly, effectively, and sufficiently while going 17 for 25 passing for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. Those aren’t exactly numbers that will make you confuse Matt Cassel for Peyton Manning, but perhaps a more important statistic is that he didn’t turn the ball over nor did he put Minnesota’s defense in any difficult situations. Cassel very adeptly ran the show for the Minnesota offense and helped the team to a dominating victory over the Rams.
And if you’re a St. Louis fan, look on the bright side. It certainly could have been worse. At least no one on your team got kicked in the head like Cleveland’s punter. And kudos to Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown for remembering to look at his W.W.C.N. bracelet before returning that punt (W.W.C.N., of course, referring to What Would Chuck Norris do). That jump kick really was a thing of beauty.
Speaking of things of beauty (and getting back on topic), this game certainly was one for Minnesota faithful. It may have started a little slow, as my dad pointed out in a text message that read, in PG-version, “Good luck writing about this stuff.” But a 34-6 victory definitely indicates a strong performance by your Minnesota Vikings.
Overall, Minnesota had a refreshing swagger and competent-ness about them that is hopefully something that will continue with the new regime and new season. And hopefully I’m not just misreading or overblowing those signs like a person that mistakes gas for a serious health issue.
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