One and one...just as planned.

See? What did I say? 

Oh yeah, the Vikings will play much better once they escape the perils of prime time.

Told you so. 

I could just end the post right here, but I have other things to say.  A brief reality check: the Lions are still the Lions.  Teddy looked good, but we expect him to look good against Detroit.  Same goes for Adrian Peterson.  Speaking of AP, I’m a little nervous at his first serious case of Fumblitis (thank you Madden Football) in about five years.  He ran well, but I was having nightmares about a certain playoff game.

Take out the fumbles, however, and he gave the offense exactly what it needed.  Matt Asiata ran the ball well a year ago, but there is no replacing the freak of nature that Adrian Peterson is.  As mentioned earlier, Teddy Bridgewater looked like he’s supposed to look.  It feels good to say that with the quarterbacks we’ve stuck behind center the past several years. 

I find it interesting people are freaking out over one missed extra point.  Maybe they missed the part where Blair Walsh hit his next field goal try to put the Vikings up by 16.  I’m hoping he’ll be okay again soon, but it isn’t like he has cost the team any games yet.  The Vikings built a big enough lead and were able to sit on it for once and “hang on” to win by double digits.

Again, the Lions are still the Lions.  I’m not going to call the Vikings a playoff team because they beat Detroit.  The Vikings have to stand up and beat the Packers and Bears (preferably sweeps of both) before I would go that far.  But, anything can happen in the NFL.  That’s the beauty of watching every Sunday, Monday and Thursday. 

The Vikings play the Chargers Sunday for the first time since AP’s record-setting day in his rookie season.  It will be interesting to see what he can do eight years later for an encore performance.  Phillip Rivers has done well to start the season.  He’s tossed a couple of interceptions, but his completion percentage is ridiculous so far.  I’m nervous for this game because he is one of those quarterbacks who can hack and slash a defense that can’t get pressure on him.

I think the Vikings can play with the Chargers.  It will a fun, close game to watch, more fun if the Vikings pull out the win. 

Hopefully the Vikings come out and eat lightning and…well, you know the rest.

2015 Minnesota Vikings: The STILL Not Ready for Prime Time Players

Honestly, I’m not sure how to gauge Monday night’s game. 

The Vikings were obviously bad, yes, but the Vikings have been bad in prime time for a number of years now.  Monday’s loss was the sixth consecutive MNF defeat for the Vikings.  Not ready for prime time, indeed.

I looked back on some history, and even the memorable and quite good 2009 Vikings lost two out of three prime time games (beating Green Bay on Monday Night Football, which is one of my favorite Favre memories).  Three out of four if you count that Montreal Screwjob crap at the Superdome (that’s a wrestling reference, look it up if you want).  ’09 was the GOOD Favre year, mind you.  The team went 12-4 in the regular season, as I’m sure we all remember.

The Vikings have paraded several mediocre teams on to the field in the last 15 years. That’s probably where this whole thing started.  Monday night looked like a potential turning point. You can imagine how upset I was at the realization that this simply wasn’t the case, which is exactly why I waited a few days to say anything on the subject that wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction immediately following the game. 

Silencing the Roar

I’m willing to throw all of it out the window if the Vikings can just pull it together and defeat the Lions in the final home opener before we move into our fancy new stadium in 2016.  If it wasn’t already obvious, I’m ignoring Monday night because of Minnesota’s tendency to turn their white pants yellow under the lights.  Strangely enough, most Minnesota teams share the same problem (except for the Lynx; playoff bound again and playing the night I’m writing this…go get ‘em ladies!).

The Lions defense appears to be weaker than usual with the departure of a boy named Suh (what’s his name again? Donkey Kong, or something like that?).  If only by virtue of not playing in the national spotlight, I think the Vikings do better this week.  The offensive line play has to be better, there’s no question about that.  Aaron Rodgers himself would have had a bad game by his standards behind our line Monday night.

By no means am I yet comparing Teddy to a solid veteran QB like Phillip Rivers, but if the line gives him time, he should be able to have a much better game in week 2.  The Lions secondary got lit up by Rivers.  If Adrian Peterson can get going to make the Lions respect the ground game, I would expect Teddy to guide the team to a 1-1 record.  Any kind of win this week would make up for another huge, embarrassing failure in prime time.

As this is just week 2, let me say this; keep calm and Skol on.

Dawn of the Cavalcade: and so it begins...

Hello, Vikings fans, and welcome to the all-new Vikings Cavalcade website and blog!

The preseason has come and gone, and what a relief it is.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching any kind of NFL football, but this preseason seemed to go on forever!  With every game that passed, we saw some key players go down for the season.  The Vikings had five games this past month, and fans surely sweat a little whenever the first teamers, primarily Teddy Bridgewater, went through their reps.

The only thing Phil Loadholt, Kelvin Benjamin and Matt Elam have in common is that they will miss the entire upcoming season.  The Bears lost highly-touted rookie prospect Kevin White, and the Packers lost star receiver Jordy Nelson (whom I spent significant money to draft in my first-ever auction league).

I think it’s safe to say we’re all glad the preseason is over.  There is truly nothing worse than losing a player to an injury in a game that matters as much in the long run as you beating your buddy in a game of Madden.

Preseason Review

The Vikings looked solid in all of the right places this preseason.  Thanks to having five games, Teddy Bridgewater was never in play for too long and both offensive coordinator Norv Turner and defensive coordinator George Edwards were able to run several players through their respective game plans and get a solid look at whomever they wanted.

Teddy looked about as crisp as any Vikings quarterback I’ve ever seen in the preseason and he should make good strides this year.  If the Vikings can protect him on pass plays, I see the returns proving to be huge because of how poised he continues to look in the pocket.  With Adrian Peterson returning, the defense will have to respect the running game, which could help Bridgewater immensely.  Our QB has nothing to lose and everything to gain with one of the best in the game lining up behind him.

The first team defense looked very efficient through four games.  There were some big plays given up, but nothing made me panic and declare the 2015 Vikings a three-win team.  Mike Zimmer and George Edwards continue to shape the defense into their ultimate image, which might just someday emulate the Purple People Eaters of old.

San Francisco

What a thrill it is to open the season on Monday Night Football.  This is a chance for Touchdown Teddy to begin writing his legend.  It makes me think of other great Monday night moments for the Vikes, such as when Randy Moss silenced Lambeau Field in his rookie year.  Will he dazzle a nation watching with a long strike to Mike Wallace?  Will Cordarrelle Patterson finally show signs of returning to the player he was the second half of his rookie year?  And, what will AP do to redeem himself?

It’s hard to place a prediction for the purple and gold this season.  If everything goes according to plan, the Vikings should have an improved year under Zimmer in season #2.  However, these things hardly go the way we want in Minnesota.  Still, count me in the camp of hoping for the best.  There is no doubt the Vikings are on the rise.

I don’t really do score predictions, but I feel like if the 49ers are as bad as people have said, the Vikes should have no problem dispatching them on the road.  They have a rookie head coach and lost several players in the offseason, but the lights of prime time have not been kind to the Vikings lately.

In spite of what I just said, I think the Vikings win and return to TCF Bank Stadium 1-0 when the Lions come to town a week from Sunday. Oh, one more thing...

Skol Vikings!