Week 13: 9-2 and, uh-oh, here comes that old familiar pain...

The Vikings are having a really good season.  With a win against the Lions on Thanksgiving ten days ago, the division lead is three games.  A victory against Atlanta today would basically clinch a playoff spot.  Everything is going well…and it’s quiet on the drama front concerning this team.  Too quiet.

That old familiar feeling is beginning to creep up on us again.  It’s a feeling that is all too familiar to Vikings fans and a question we have all asked from time to time; how will the Vikes let us down this year?  We lost Sam Bradford after one game (Bears game doesn’t really count) because his knee decided to break down.  We lost Dalvin Cook in week four to an ACL injury.  And yet the team is 9-2, in second place in the entire NFC with only those red-hot Eagles who never lose ahead of them.

I feel like this is the position all of us wanted to be in, but we all secretly dreaded it at the same time because the other shoe always drops on this team.  You need look no further than the heyday of the Vikings.  This team made it to four Super Bowls in the 70s and I don’t need to remind you what happened in those games.  This year, Minneapolis hosts it.  I have not personally even entertained the thought of the Vikings actually playing in their own Super Bowl for good reason.

The best option is to continue taking things one game at a time.  At this point, Vikings fans should just be happy the Packers aren’t leading the division.  Let the media make the comparisons to 2009 and, much to our chagrin, bring up Gary Anderson, Blair Walsh, and Brett Favre throwing across his body in the Bountygate game.  Unfortunately, until we win a Super Bowl, those three things are the legacy of the Vikings. 

Thankfully, we have five games left of regular season football to just sit back and enjoy a 9-2 season that could turn into something more.  Let’s go get those dirty birds today.

Week 10: You say good bye week, now I say hello!

The bye week is over, and here we are.  Lots to talk about in this latest blog post.

There are rumors that Aaron Rodgers could come back for the Week 16 game, which works perfectly as a revenge angle…but the Packers had better win some games in the meantime or it won’t even matter.  There’s that pesky matter of the Vikings being 6-2, and the fact that two of their three NFC North opponents currently own tiebreakers.  

Before they worry about their State Farm Savior, they should think about winning some games first, especially since they would fall to last place if Chicago beats them this coming Sunday.  It’s hard to come back from three losses in a row, never mind four. 

The only way the Packers factor into any of this is if they win some games and the Vikings and Lions flounder.  As for our Vikings, we’ve got a sneaky tough one this week against the Redskins, who are only 4-4 but just upset Seattle.  It’s another important one, like every game, most of all because it’s a road game and the Vikes have a two-game cushion that we do NOT want to lose with the Lions having a tiebreaker over us.  If the Vikings can win these next two games, they will be in excellent shape.  I feel Detroit beats Cleveland, but wins this week and next week would put us a solid three games ahead.

The beauty of the NFL, however, is that nothing is certain.  Even at 6-2, there is a quarterback controversy brewing with the return of “Touchdown” Teddy Bridgewater.  Case Keenum has done an admirable job with the situation presented to him, and I still think the job is his to lose.  The rest of this season is going to be an interesting one, that’s for sure.  With the bad taste of last season post-bye week fresh in our mouths, here’s hoping that this year goes a lot better.

As a final point, I feel bad for Sam Bradford.  Thanks for giving us a chance in 2016, dude, and here's to a speedy recovery and possible return.

In the end, it’s all about winning YOUR games.  It’s a simple concept, really, and the Vikes are in a great place.  Now they need to fight to keep it.

Week 7: A Field Trip to Wentzylvania!

Well, here we go…another game that’s tough to call.

Of course, the Eagles looked a lot more dangerous a couple of weeks ago.

But first, a little recap of the previous game.

The bye week took forever to pass.  Seriously, this past week of football was exciting, yet something was definitely missing. 

The Vikings went into the bye about as perfectly as one could expect; 5-0, first place in the NFC North and a string of 20 quarters without a turnover on offense (seriously, that weird fumble-to-fumble against Green Bay is still the only giveaway the Vikes have this year).  Sam Bradford looks great, though this blogger sincerely believes Teddy would have the team in the same place if healthy. 

The defense, of course, continues to stymie the rest of the league and is a big reason for 5-0 instead of 4-1 or 3-2.  Typically, there has been an element of drama in every Vikings game I have ever personally attended.  Houston provided very little drama as the Vikes rushed out to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter.  It was about as relaxed as I ever felt at a game, which is not a bad thing at all (relaxed minus the constant cheering when things went right, that is).

USBank Stadium is amazing and if you have a chance to attend a game or go there for any other reason (second round state tournament games for high school football and soccer are coming up), do yourself a favor and go.

…So when does the other shoe drop? 

It had to be asked.  This is the tradition of Minnesota Vikings football; to occasionally explode out of the starting blocks only to trip and fall just before the finish line.  I’ll spare us the painful memories, because the networks have a thing for showing Vikings pratfalls when the team is actually good.

Philadelphia took a couple of bad losses in the past two weeks and looks about as threatening as Apollo Creed did against Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.  But, when they are on their game, they are as capable as Mr. Balboa himself.  No one has forgotten their Texas-sized whooping of the Pittsburgh Steelers; the team that some thought could win it all this year.

The Vikings are rested, and they just need to go into Philly and play their game.  Carson Wentz may very well be a star someday, but he’ll have to get past the Zim Reapers first. 

Halloween may come early for Mr. Wentz, for all the wrong reasons.  And I may have to restrain myself from unloading all of my Halloween puns now when the Vikings have a game on the actual day next week.

This one won’t be easy, but I think 6-0 is in sight.  Just…don’t go researching what has happened to 6-0 Vikings teams…the results are frightful, but the fire is so delightful.

Wait, wrong holiday. 

Skol Vikings, and fear the Zim Reapers.

Bye Week part one: Can a Vikings loss be positive?

In week four, the Vikings showed me everything I wanted to see against the Broncos.  Well, almost everything; I really wanted the upset victory.  But, I think the team will be okay even without it.

Some people in the Vikings football fandom will look at this loss and continue to be angry at the team for “not being as good as the Packers RIGHT NOW!”  I get it…we’re always the little brother in the NFC North.  But that’s another topic for another day (trust me…the pain of having to watch that team fall into two good quarterbacks over 25 years will be addressed soon).

But Sunday wasn’t about trying to get big brother’s attention.  Sunday was about planning our own future.

The old gunslinger managed to slip away with a victory after the Vikings fought tooth and nail to pull the upset.  There were some early moments that seemed to spell doom for the purple and gold, but the team continued fighting; a trademark of the young Mike Zimmer era.

You can’t be upset about Teddy Bridgewater’s effort.  The Vikings faced the top ranked pass defense in the league, and he faced pressure on just about every snap.  The result: a fairly accurate passing day, a touchdown and no interceptions.  He was sacked seven times and the Vikings still had a chance to win the game at the end.

 In short, Teddy looked like the guy we drafted, playing well in a big spot.  The loss itself will, in the long run, go on the long list of chokes in big spots, but I’m not mad about this one, because this team is only going to get better from here. 

Anyway…the team is on a bye for Week 5, which means the preview for the Kansas City game will come next week.  Branden and I may get together this weekend; if we do, you should get something else in addition to the blog post you are reading right now.