Tag Archives: Vikings

Sep 22 2014
Leave a comment
2014 Season, Minnesota, NFL, Sports, Vikings

Positive Thinking after Vikings Lose to Saints

Casey Johnson

If you were surprised by Minnesota’s 20-9 loss at New Orleans on Sunday, I’d have to question how closely you’re paying attention to this Vikings squad. No sirs and ma’ams, Minnesota’s loss on Sunday was about as shocking as someone having health issues after choking down Big Macs every day.

With Minnesota still battling an emotional hangover after the Adrian Peterson news/situation, it was to be expected that a loud, bright, raucous atmosphere might not be the best environment for them. Most adults, I think, can attest to that not exactly being a preferable hangover recovery zone. Truth be told, any stadium probably would’ve been a bad place for the Vikings to be on Sunday, let alone a very difficult New Orleans Superdome. To clarify what I mean when I say “very difficult,” the Saints didn’t lose a single home game in 2013 and were a combined 20-4 over the last 3 seasons at home. So, even with Adrian Peterson, Minnesota would’ve had a tall task on Sunday. Without him, they had about as good of a chance of winning the game as I have of having a successful career as a pizza taste tester, which, given the fact that I am both lactose intolerant and gluten sensitive, is not very likely.

What is possibly surprising is the fact that I’m not going to dwell on the negatives of Sunday’s loss. Again, I wasn’t surprised by it, so why act like I was. I wasn’t surprised that Minnesota wasn’t able to run the ball effectively without Adrian (only 59 yards on 22 carries = 2.7 yard/carry average). I wasn’t surprised that Minnesota had trouble finding the end zone (settled for 3 field goals on drives that got inside the New Orleans 22-yard line). I wasn’t surprised that Drew Brees threw for almost 300 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Nor was I surprised that Minnesota started the game so dreadfully sluggishly. These things weren’t surprising because, as every Vikings fan knows, there is just an agonizing air of humiliation and negativity suffocating this team.

But take those bottles out of your hands Vikings fans because I’m going to give you some real medicine. The medicine and comfort that I offer is in the form of positivity. If you don’t remember what positivity is, just pretend that you’re a fan of Boston sports teams. After all, they win championships like they have a membership at Costco for them (in bulk).

You might be scratching your Helga-horned heads trying to think of what possible positives came from Sunday’s loss, but don’t worry baby birds, I’ll feed you (and yes, I totally stole that line from Daniel Tosh – still funny though).

Let’s start small and build to a crescendo. First of all, Minnesota’s defense actually played fairly well. If you take away New Orleans’ first 2 possessions, which I really wish we could, the Saints only scored 7 points over the final 3-plus quarters. Sure, Minnesota did relatively little to thwart the Saints’ vaunted passing attack, but in the rushing game, Minnesota held the Saints to a fairly paltry 3.4 yards per carry (108 yards on 32 attempts). And overall, it is respectable that the Minnesota defense held New Orleans to 20 points. The Saints came into the game 3rd in total yards per game and were averaging 29 points per game (although 2 games is not necessarily a significant sample size). In summary, though, it was a good enough performance by the defense to have resulted in a win, but the offense’s inability to score touchdowns near and inside the red zone doomed the Vikings.

But anyway, back to the positives. Minnesota played a fairly clean game. They should be happy with the fact that they never turned the ball over and that they only committed 5 penalties for 44 yards. Sure, one of those penalties was a regrettable (b.s.) unnecessary roughness penalty on Captain Munnerlyn that salvaged and stoked a Saints drive at the end of the 3rd quarter and start of the 4th quarter which resulted in New Orleans’ final touchdown and made the score 20-9. That penalty was called on a 3rd down sack by Munnerlyn, which would have forced the Saints to have punted but, instead, killed Minnesota’s momentum and hope.

Man, it turns out that it is hard to stay focused on the positives. Let me try to regain my momentum. The Matt Cassel injury, now stick with me here, could actually end up being a positive for this Vikings team. At the beginning of the season, it seemed that everyone and their grandmothers had an opinion regarding the quarterback situation and when we would/should see Teddy Bridgewater on the field. Well, now the mystery is over, as Mike Zimmer has no choice but to play the 21-year-old rookie quarterback (I guess, technically, he could play Christian Ponder…).

I believe that this is a positive because, if Minnesota is going to have a difficult/challenging season, which is how things are shaping out (although it is still very early in the season), why not let Teddy B. see the field? To be clear, I was in the Cassel camp to start the season, but things have changed so dramatically in just the first 3 games of the season that it seems like a very good thing that Bridgewater is going to have a chance to get real NFL action. After all, the future of this team in the next few seasons is only as bright as Bridgewater’s future. And if Teddy B. can continue to play like he did on Sunday, which is a big if given that teams will now have a chance to prepare for him, his future seems very bright.

Bridgewater’s 12 completions in 20 attempts isn’t exactly a jaw-dropping stat, but his instinctive ability to move around in the pocket, make people miss, and extend plays, all the while keeping his eyes down the field, was very impressive for a rookie quarterback. He had no deer in the headlights look, which is exactly what we got used to seeing from Christian Ponder. One game certainly is not enough to make any sort of long-term projection of Bridgewater’s career. That would be like guessing the ending of an M. Night Shyamalan movie in the first 5 minutes. But that is why the Cassel injury is in a way a positive (try telling Cassel that), as we will certainly get to see more of Bridgewater and whether or not he can continue to play well and improve from week to week.

Another positive was that Minnesota…..well, the Vikings did a great job of…..ok, so those were the only real positives that I could come up with. But hey, I have to try to remain somewhat upbeat. I mean, I have to write about this team every week, and it’s going to get old real fast if I jump on the negativity train headed for Loserville, U.S.A. this early in the season. After all, there will be plenty of time for that later. Let’s build up to it.

And who knows, maybe Teddy B. can take control of the train that is Minnesota’s 2014 campaign and prevent it from careening off of the tracks this early in the season.

Tagged , , , , ,
Sep 15 2014
Leave a comment
2014 Season, Minnesota, NFL, Sports, Vikings

Tough Week for the Vikings Continues

Casey Johnson

If you see a Vikings fan this week (myself included), be sure to give them a big hug. Trust me, we need it.

In a matter of 3 days, Minnesota’s season outlook went from very bright to utterly uncertain. I guess the combination of losing your star player and former MVP for potentially the foreseeable future and getting destroyed 30-7 by New England in your home opener tends to cloud your future.

And if I’m being fully honest, for more than one reason, it’s a little difficult to write about Minnesota’s crushing 30-7 loss to New England on Sunday.

Reason #1: I had the unbelievable opportunity yesterday to road trip to and from Chicago in less than 24 hours with my fiancé, my sisters, and two of my cousins to see one of the greatest entertainers in the history of entertaining. Of course, I’m speaking of the incomparable Garth Brooks whose music has had an impact on me and my family that is impossible to explain. And due to the timing of the concert and Sunday’s Vikings game, as well as the distance between Minneapolis and Chicago (about 6.5 hours), I got just slightly over 3 hours of sleep. I don’t know how others operate when semi-sleep deprived, but my mind is dragging like I took a horse tranquilizer. So please forgive any logic or grammar issues that you have with this article.

Reason #2: I’m writing this at the airport while awaiting a flight to Denver for work. If you must know, I’m interviewing to be the punter for the Denver Broncos. It seems their current punter is extremely overpaid for the amount of work that is actually required of him. Ok, you caught me. That’s a lie. But I am at the airport awaiting a flight to Denver for other work-related business.

Reason #3: Quite frankly, there’s nothing positive to write about from Sunday’s game, which is really killing my mojo. I mean, I could write about how pathetic Matt Cassel’s performance was (4 interceptions) or about how those turnovers turned into 17 New England points or about how Minnesota couldn’t run the ball (only 54 yards) or protect Cassel (sacked 6 times) or about how Minnesota was outplayed in every facet of the game, including special teams (among other things, New England blocked a Blair Walsh field goal and returned it for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half when said field goal would have cut the New England lead to 17-10). I could probably think of more reasons if I tried, but I’m kind of sick of dwelling on what amounted to nothing more than the Vikings taking the field on Sunday and proceeding to metaphorically soil their bedding.

Reason #4: For probably the most significant reason, though, it’s a bit difficult to write about a football game that was, in many ways, marred by the Adrian Peterson child abuse controversy. I would call it an accusation, but Adrian himself has admitted that he went too far in disciplining one of his children. So whatever your stance is on corporal punishment as a form of discipline for children, we should all be able to agree that Adrian, as he acknowledged, went too far in this particular instance. I’m not going to speculate on how many other times this sort of thing may have occurred or what kind of punishment Adrian will or should face because that’s not the least bit constructive. I’ll also refrain from going on some long diatribe about why child abuse is such a serious topic. I’m going to assume that all reasonable people already know that child welfare is as serious an issue as there is.

The Vikings deactivated Peterson for Sunday’s game, which, if we are honest and drop any of our misplaced Vikings allegiances, was the right thing to have done given the circumstances, and we should know sometime this week what Minnesota plans to do with Peterson going forward. We also don’t know what, if anything, the NFL is going to do in the immediate future in regards to disciplining Peterson, but given the NFL’s current climate, it is conceivable that Peterson could face a lengthy suspension at some point down the road.

My apologies if reasons 1 and 2 are a little self-absorbed and whiny and/or complainy (yes, I know that’s not an actual word). No excuses. Play like a champion (Wedding Crashers rule #76).

But besides the other reasons, reason #4 is probably sufficient support for a bit of an offbeat article this week. There’s a smog hovering over the Vikings right now, and it’s the type of suffocating filth that is associated with terrible actions such as possible child abuse (regardless of whether or not Adrian Peterson is ever found guilty of these charges).

With or without Peterson, Minnesota has to perform exponentially better, and it will be up to Mike Zimmer and the Vikings coaches to get their team focused on improving and preparing for their matchup next week against New Orleans. A win against the Saints certainly wouldn’t do anything to change or better the Adrian Peterson situation, but it would provide some wind in the sails of the Vikings as they find themselves at a potentially season-defining moment very early in this 2014 season.

Tagged , , , , ,
Aug 11 2014
2 Comments
Sports

Preseason Perspective

Casey Johnson

Fear not American men. You can get up out of the fetal position, dry your tear-soaked faces, and change out of your favorite baseball team’s apparel. No longer do you have to pretend to be interested in the World Cup or baseball. The American sports equivalent of electricity is back. Awaken from the dark months, rub your weary eyes, re-acclimate yourselves to the light, turn on your televisions, stock your mini-fridges, and plug in your crock pots because football is back baby.

Sure the first preseason game was about a week ago, but as I am a Vikings fan, the NFL season essentially started on Friday night at TCF Bank Stadium with the Vikings winning a 10-6 barnburner (sarcasm) over the hated Raiders (And try to think of the word Raiders like Chris Berman was saying it, “Raidas.” Isn’t that more enjoyable?). It was a beautiful night at The Bank, which served quite nicely as the Vikings home stadium for preseason game #1 (at least from a fan’s perspective). And although my crew and I missed the first two possessions of the game, including Minnesota’s lone touchdown drive, as we navigated the oft-praised light rail to a game for the first time, we still proceeded to have a good time at the game.

After the game, I found myself digging for conclusions that could be drawn and searching for intelligent, original analysis to unearth. Indeed, I believe that this is a common feeling for most fans. Our society’s football appetite, as a whole, is so insatiable that our desire to “analyze” even preseason games is astronomical.

But let’s face it, your average fan has very little idea of how to analyze a professional football game, let alone a preseason game. We aren’t equipped to judge how well a rookie offensive or defensive lineman is playing. Nor can we tell you much about how good the starters are when they only really played one series together and some of the best players didn’t even play at all. We are, at best, capable of noticing glaring successes and mistakes at skilled positions such as running back, wide receiver, and quarterback. Sure, we can tell you if a running back is playing badly if he has problems holding onto the ball, we can tell you if a receiver is playing poorly if he continuously drops passes, and we can tell you when a quarterback is having a bad game if he’s missing open receivers or turning the ball over. For defensive players, we can really only say if they have a good or bad game based on very tangible, quantifiable statistics that we look up after the fact, unless they force a turnover or make several plays in the backfield or miss some tackles that we notice/remember. For the most part, we rely on announcers, analysts, and radio personalities to tell us who is playing well and who is playing poorly. That’s because the vast, vast majority of NFL fans never played football after high school, and a significant percentage probably never even played in high school (including yours truly).

So let’s admit that we don’t know people.   Don’t be ashamed to not take big, bold stances. Don’t be afraid to keep your opinions and predictions reserved until seeing meaningful, regular season games played (and even then, the world would probably be ok with you keeping them to yourself).

You don’t have to be the idiot behind me at the game on Friday who yelled, “You suck Musgrave. Let Bridgewater throw the ball.” And if you don’t know why that is an absurd thing to yell at a Vikings game, you probably should feel free to be one of those people that keeps their Vikings opinions muted. That is, of course, an absurd thing to yell at a Vikings game now because Bill Musgrave was replaced as offensive coordinator by Norv Turner, who was hired by new head coach Mike Zimmer.

And to all of those who are so delusional about the preseason that you think you can predict MVP candidates, rookies of the year, and Super Bowl winners, please consider this article to be your wet blanket. In truth, your opinions are likely just regurgitated, second-hand commentary that you pilfered from some football analyst or sports talk radio host somewhere (which is why I try to write most of my Vikings articles immediately following games before I am exposed to outside opinion). And don’t be offended by this observation. These words are also meant to serve as a reminder to myself that opinions are just opinions. We tend to forget the ones that we have that don’t work out and cling to the ones that do. And in all honesty, there are very few original opinions to be had anyway.

Which brings me to a rhetorical question. What, if any, acceptable opinions/conclusions can we draw from preseason football games then?

The answer: virtually none.

At least none that don’t come directly from the mouth of a knowledgeable football analyst or coach, and even theirs will likely miss the mark more often than not.

So here’s what I can feel comfortable telling you after one Vikings preseason game:  it was a gorgeous night at TCF Bank Stadium (The Bank), which I’m confident will serve as a suitable home for the Vikings over the next two seasons.

Aside from fewer seats, a lackluster speaker system/audio experience, bleacher seating in parts of the stadium (including our seats), and the stupid drunk guy yelling about Bill Musgrave, the stadium is a better venue for taking in a game than the Dome. The Bank’s jumbotrons (without pathetic yellow nodes/display), concourses, overall architecture, and urinals (yes urinals, not troughs guys) are all vastly superior to what the Dome used to offer. And don’t forget the authentic, outdoor football experience (not that I’m complaining that the new stadium will be enclosed, though).

If the Vikings can manage to win some football games early in the season and remain relevant, this could be one of the most fun and special falls in recent memory. The circumstances of playing in a temporary, outdoor home stadium could potentially reinvigorate fans and provide some positive, nostalgic “I remember when the Vikings played at The Bank during the 2014 season” memories.

Of course, that is entirely dependent upon how well the team plays, and I’m hoping that the memories created don’t just turn into one big, white, foggy flashback of Vikings fans freezing in the stands come late December while the Vikes get toasted by another opponent in another meaningless game.

I guess that, for now, we should probably just be happy that football is back.

Tagged ,