Conventional wisdom said that the Vikings would be able to run against the Bears and that they would be able to stop the run on Sunday. Neither was true as Minnesota was steamrolled by over four touchdowns in a 39-10 drubbing. One would have thought that Viking quarterback Donovan McNabb could have a better performance on his return to his hometown.
The team is now officially in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. It would behoove the organization to lose the rest of their games this season, but Leslie Frazier may not like this course of action for his job security.
Owner Zygi Wilf has been attempting to secure a stadium deal for years, but is unlikely to do so because of the state of the economy, the losing ways of late, and the Brett Favre debacle.
McNabb had a subpar performance once again by accumulating less than two hundred yards through the air. Some of this was due to Christian Ponder’s late insertion into the game during garbage time. The Florida State product had ninety-nine yards through the air. Neither man had a touchdown or interception in the contest. Some may say, “no harm no foul”, but in this pass happy league there is damage done by not putting up prodigious numbers.
Adrian Peterson only had thirty-nine yards on the ground with a dozen carries. This was mainly due to the large deficit that the Vikings faced early in the game. I have been a proponent of Minnesota giving the ball to Peterson more often, but I fully understand that the focus must shift to the air in the latter half of games when trying to climb back.
It would be an insult to busts to call Bernard Berrian one. The Vikings wide receiver has been irrelevant for years in Minnesota. His dropped pass on third down in the first quarter set the tone for the remainder of the evening. The other similar play to Visanthe Shiancoe can be pinned on the quarterback because it was excessively high, but Berrian’s hit his hands around the numbers. His smirk after the drop was frustrating to the fans in the Great North who have been consistently disappointed by him during his tenure.
Even the reliable placekicker Ryan Longwell missed a field goal. This is infuriating considering that he has a big time multi-year contract with the club. The ability to put the ball in the end zone seems to be the focus of the kickers these days since the tee has been placed up five yards from its past position. Putting points on the board should never be ignored though in a league where turnovers and field goals can decide numerous games.
Where should the team go from here?(Comment below)
Analyzing the tape is certainly the first course of action while the players physically recuperate, but the coaching staff should emphasize the next opponent rather than the big picture. Respect for the game must be the primary factor in giving one hundred percent on a daily basis.