Fear the Zim Reapers!

Hello, Vikings fans.  This is a bonus post for this week.  Expect the main post later this week. 

After dismantling Cam Newton and making him look like a rookie, people began to praise the Vikings defense calling them the “Purple People Eaters.” 

You may remember this as the nickname the Vikings defense acquired in the 1970s when they were really, really good.  Drawing comparisons to the past is never a bad thing, but I also feel like that name belongs to Alan Page, Jim Marshall, Paul Krause, and the rest of that team that served as the heyday of the Vikings when we were good enough to at least appear in Super Bowls.

It’s a new era in Vikings football with a new stadium and expectations for the near future are as high as they have been in some time.  Mike Zimmer is doing his best to put the Vikings in a position to succeed for years.      

Not to mention, the defense is really, really good again.    I will always respect Bud Grant and his legacy of putting this team in the national consciousness, but taking the nickname he and his players earned just wouldn’t be right.  We need a new nickname to pay tribute to the monster Zimmer has created.

This blog cannot take credit for creating this name, but we really like it and think it best sums up what the Vikings defense does and will hopefully continue to do.

“The Zim Reapers.”  

Right away, it leaps out at you.  “The Zim Reapers are knocking at your door!”  “Fear the Zim Reapers” could very well be the slogan of the 2016 Minnesota Vikings.  I can foresee some kind of chant involving the Zim Reapers being invented in the future.  Cam and Aaron will be seeing Harrison Smith, Everson Griffen and others in their nightmares for the next month.

I love this name and I heartily endorse it for the nickname of the Zimmer defense that is finally starting to catch the attention of the nation.

Fear the Zim Reapers.

Week 16: Nodell in Prime Time: The NFL Strikes Back!

(Yes, I realize the title has nothing to do with the Vikings, I just wanted to make that joke.)

It is a not-so-dark time for the Vikings.  Although injuries threaten the playing time of superstar Adrian Peterson, Vikings fans have noticed the potential return of Harrison Smith, Anthony Barr and Linval Joseph in time for Sunday Night Football.

Led by Teddy Bridgewater, whose late-season emergence has delighted everyone except the most jaded of hearts, the Vikings welcome the New York Giants, whose playoff hopes depend on winning the NFC East.  (Update: they now have nothing to play for, as Washington beat Philadelphia 38-24.) 

Odell Beckham Jr’s game-long war with Josh Norman did not go unnoticed.  The league suspended New York’s best player when it hurt the most; another chance to show off under the lights and potentially save the season with a win (now null and void).  That goal for the Giants gets tougher without Beckham.   

Packer fans lie in wait for week 17.  Unless the Vikings lose and the Packers win, the regular season finale decides the fate of the North division.

I think we are all aware of the stakes by now.  If certain things happen, the Vikings can clinch a playoff spot before taking the field on Sunday night (hello again, 2009 parallel!).  The most important part, of course, is taking care of business that night if Green Bay wins.  We all want week 17 to turn into week 17 of 2012, except with the division on the line this time.

This game has gradually lost most of its luster since NBC flexed it.  Unless the Packers and Falcons both win, this Sunday night game will essentially become an exhibition for the Vikings.  A Packer win would keep the sense of urgency for the Vikings to win in order to have a chance to achieve Mike Zimmer’s goal of stealing the division title in week 17.  A Falcon win would keep the pressure on the Vikings to win because of a stupid tiebreaker I still can’t figure out.  Seriously, we whipped that collective butt; exactly how do they get into the playoffs over us if they tie us for the second wild card seed?

Of course, the Seahawks would have to lose for that scenario to possibly play out next week as well, and I don’t think they will.  The Rams beating the Seahawks came as a shock to everyone in week one.  Seattle laying a beating on the Rams in week 16 would shock no one. 

So let’s review; a Vikings win (necessary only if everything goes the exact opposite as we want) gets us in.  A Seahawks win gets us in no matter what Atlanta does.  If all else fails, a Falcons loss will do the trick.  Or, in the unlikely event that any of the three teams tie their opponent; that would work, too.

Back to our game; it’s hard to predict anything because we won’t know the situation until at least the Falcons and Panthers get done around roughly 3-3:15 or later.  The Rams and Seahawks follow at 3:25, so Minnesota’s pair of chances to clinch by doing absolutely nothing air back-to-back.

About the only thing I can say is that I hope the Vikings finally end the prime time curse, regardless of this game meaning anything or not.  Packers-Cardinals will play alongside Seahawks-Rams, so we will have an answer before kickoff.

One thing is for sure, with Nodell, things just swung in Minnesota’s favor if it comes down to win-and-in.  Hopefully Teddy continues his December surge as well.

Week 14: NFC West Blues

Here we go again…

Another Vikings game where I have absolutely no idea how it will play out.

The Vikings suffered their worst loss in years (no matter the opponent) on Sunday.  Now, on a short week, they travel to Arizona, a team that I believe will grab the second overall seed in the NFC regardless of Thursday night’s result.  We’re missing several of our core pieces on defense, and they look to be relatively healthy.  Teddy looks like a second-year pro, while Carson Palmer is having his Kurt Warner moment this season. 

This could be a doozy.

I’m still not sure of how this team works.  I suppose that’s part of the fun, the unpredictability of it all.  The patterns of the season are as follows

            

      1.  The 2015 Vikings have won the games they “should” win (bad to mediocre teams).  As recently as last year, the Vikings had trouble closing out games.  2014 was when they learned how to do it; 2015 is when they’ve done it more often than not.

          2.   Unfortunately, every time this team has had a chance to make a statement, they’ve failed…sometimes miserably.  Beating the 49ers wouldn’t have made much of a statement, but it would have gotten the Vikings off the hook for prime time losses.  Denver was a huge missed opportunity, and the team completely forgot how to do all of the things that led to its current record vs the Seahawks and Packers.

          3.  The final and perhaps biggest pattern of 2015 is that the Vikings have bounced back after every loss.  They followed the MNF loss with two solid wins over Detroit and San Diego.  They followed up the Denver loss with 5 straight wins after the bye.  After the Packers ended that streak, the Vikings beat Atlanta to go to 8-3…

…which leads us to Thursday night.  The thing that makes most Vikings fans squirm right now is that they haven’t faced this caliber of opponent after a loss all season, especially on such a short week.  However, it would take a complete collapse to miss the playoffs at this point.  There haven’t been many times in recent years where the Vikings have known the benefit of winning early.  Typically the team has a bad start and either rebounds for a shot at the playoffs or not.  Or, it’s the exact opposite…remember 2003?

(Coincidentally, up until they “won” against Detroit, I felt the Packers might have been heading in that direction.)

I feel like we are not yet in the position where we have to watch the scoreboard.  Even if the Vikings enter Week 15 at 8-5, there’s still hope, and that’s a position I will continue to hold until all hope is lost.

(Both members of Vikings Cavalcade will attend Vikings-Bears on the 20^th.  Pictures to come during that week’s reaction blog.) 

Week 13: The Vikings, the Seahawks, and the race to stay in first place!

Before I start the usual weekend Cavalcade post, I want to get one thing off my chest.

Regardless of how things went in that Green Bay-Detroit game, I want to ask the NFL one question: do you actually care about the safety of all of your players?  Or do you only care about protecting your sacred cow superstars?  I’m just saying, that facemask penalty on the Lions was the weakest I’ve ever seen.  Meanwhile, the Packers almost decapitated Teddy Bridgewater in Week 11…and nothing. 

Never mind…I think I just got my answer.

Anyway…let’s move on to more important things.  Are the Vikings feeling much pressure right now?  They are an up-and-coming team, whereas the Packers have been consistently good ever since the NFC North came into existence.  Everyone else has been up-and-down.  Thus, it’s always easy to say the Packers will win the division.  It’s clear the Packers are feeling pressure despite winning Thursday.

The Vikings are 8-3 coming into Sunday’s game.  It’s a huge one.  They’re all huge coming down the stretch, as the Vikes try to steal the division from the team that has owned it throughout its 13 year history.  Seattle appears to be finding its late-season form.  The defense ain’t what it used to be, but apparently the offense has hit its stride after shredding Pittsburgh.  On our side, we appear to be getting our hitman back, but Andrew Sendejo is still injured, which means we may get my personal wish of a Smith-Exum backfield.

Here’s a chance for the Vikings to make a major statement.  I’m not saying they have to win by 30 points…this offense isn’t built that way.  Just get a win to stay in first place.  I’m looking forward to an incredibly gritty game, because this Vikings defense has been consistently good this season.  As far as score…well, you know this blog never predicts scores; we leave that to everyone else.

I just know I do NOT want to hand first place back to the Packers after the “Phantom Facemask” incident, so the Vikings need to rise up and beat the Seahawks.  So let’s go, Vikings.  Show the league we are 8-3 for a reason and go to 9-3.  If the Vikings win Sunday, you’ve got to think only a major meltdown could keep them out of the postseason.  It’s simple…to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and the Hawks are pretty close to the best.  They should have been back-to-back champions.

Sunday is yet another chance for the Vikings (who have no doubt already pleased the fans just by winning enough games to start December relevant) to prove they are ready for bigger and better things.  

Let’s do it.  SKOL Vikings!